When I was a young man <br />the president sent me a letter <br />instructing me to report for duty <br />my country needed me <br />so I answered its call <br />my uniform was clean and starched <br />I looked sharp enough to kill <br />the women loved me <br />I trained hard to be a good soldier <br />I wanted to serve my country proudly <br />I enlisted even longer <br />my country still needed me <br />I returned to the war <br />the war went on for years <br />my country deserted me <br />the women who had once loved me <br />now chanted that I was a murderer <br />they hated me <br />some even spit on me <br />I was not their hero in uniform <br />my uniform was soiled and torn <br />my flesh had been baked and broiled <br />my hearing impaired by explosive blasts <br />my fingers numbed by a hot barrel and trigger <br />but my shoulders refused to be recoiled <br />I was proud to be among those counted <br />as fighting men who were willing to die <br />in the name of Freedom <br />and the American way..... <br />......even when America had deserted itself <br />and left me to be counted as one of so many fooled <br />by politics and money <br />I still loved her....... <br /> <br />'Forgive them Lord, for they know not what they do.' <br /> <br />2007 © Ted Sheridan<br /><br />Ted Sheridan<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/old-soldiers-never-die-they-are-just-counted-among-the-dead/
