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JUST
A COMMON SOLDIER
(A Soldier Died Today)
by A. Lawrence Vaincourt
Source No.1: from
the International War Veterans Poetry Archives
A.
Lawrence Vaincourt
Source No.2:
"JUST
A COMMON SOLDIER"
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?
A politician's stipend and the style
in which he lives
Are sometimes disproportionate to the
service that he gives.
While the ordinary soldier, who offered
up his all,
Is paid off with a medal and perhaps,
a pension small.
It's so easy to forget them for it was
so long ago,
That the old Bills of our Country went
to battle, but we know
It was not the politicians, with their
compromise and ploys,
Who won for us the freedom that our
Country now enjoys.
Should you find yourself in danger,
with your enemies at hand,
Would you want a politician with his
ever-shifting stand?
Or would you prefer a soldier, who
has sworn to defend
His home, his kin and Country and would
fight until the end?
He was just a common soldier and his
ranks are growing thin,
But his presence should remind us we
may need his like again.
For when countries are in conflict,
then we find the soldier's part
Is to clean up all the troubles that
the politicians start.
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.
© 1985 A. Lawrence Vaincourt |