Monday is Memorial Day which honors our American soldiers who lost their lives in service to their country. So in honor of Memorial Day, here’s a poem. Let it be a tribute to all the soldiers who know that the cost of freedom is not free.
Just a Common Soldier
by A. Lawrence Vaincourt
He was getting old and paunchy and his hair was falling fast,
And he sat around the Legion, telling stories of the past
Of a war that he had fought in and the deeds that he had done,
In his exploits with his buddies; they were heroes, every one
And tho’ sometimes, to his neighbors, his tales became a joke,
All his Legion buddies listened, for they knew whereof he spoke
But we’ll hear his tales no longer for old Bill has passed away,
And the world’s a little poorer, for a soldier died today
He will not be mourned by many, just his children and his wife,
For he lived an ordinary and quite uneventful life
Held a job and raised a family, quietly going his own way,
And the world won’t note his passing, though a soldier died today
When politicians leave this earth, their bodies lie in state,
While thousands note their passing and proclaim that they were great.
Papers tell their whole life stories, from the time that they were young,
But the passing of a soldier goes unnoticed and unsung
Is the greatest contribution to the welfare of our land
A guy who breaks his promises and cons his fellow man?
Or the ordinary fellow who, in times of war and strife,
Goes off to serve his Country and offers up his life?
If we cannot do him honor while he’s here to hear the praise,
Then at least let’s give him homage at the ending of his days
Perhaps just a simple headline in a paper that would say,
Our Country is in mourning, for a soldier died today.
