Terry D. Sutherland

THE PARK BENCH

He tried to strike a conversation
With the one with vacant eyes
He mentioned the state of the nation
And the store with the very best buys

Vacant eyes starred ahead
And ignored the friendly try
All his being was in his head
Remembering only those who died

Friends and foe of long ago
And the army way of life
There was no other way to show
The dreams of kindred ties

So many years his mental state
Was internal an impenetrable wall
The one who engaged in talk
Didn’t understand at all

This is the life on the old park bench
And it’s the same every day
The internal thoughts of bunker and trench
And the young lives wasted that way