You like to talk about war heroes I'll take you to meet one today <br />On warm days he sits on a park chair from here in distance a short walk away <br />In him you may feel disappointed he is frail and aged and gray <br />He has blocked out most of his war memories of war he has little to say. <br /> <br />He is not your idea of a hero but heroes they too do grow old <br />Just one more forgotten old warrior the years on him in wrinkles have told <br />He fought under the flag of his Nation in his Country he had great pride <br />A survivor of the war trenches where thousands of brave young men died. <br /> <br />He lives alone in a one bedroom apartment in a cold and drafty place to live in <br />Yet in his early twenties he was a decorated soldier and medals for his bravery he did win <br />For him it has all come to nothing and on the reaper's call he wait <br />On war memorial day he does not walk in the parade he feels no cause to celebrate. <br /> <br />You like to talk about war heroes you come for a short walk with me <br />And sitting on a park chair in the sunshine a war hero in the flesh you will see <br />Long before your father was born he fought in a war from here far away <br />He is the last of his battalion his war comrades amongst the dead lay<br /><br />Francis Duggan<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/you-like-to-talk-about-war-heroes/
