So you want to be a soldier <br />And learn those fighting moves; <br />Be a member of a team <br />In the soldier's school. <br /> <br />So you want to be a soldier <br />And go far from your home, <br />And learn there how to be a man <br />As you fight and roam. <br /> <br />So you want to be a soldier <br />And hold your buddy's hand, <br />As they breathe their final, <br />There on some mortal sand. <br /> <br />So you want to be a soldier <br />And call the road your bed, <br />And never know just when or how <br />You'll lay down your tired head. <br /> <br />So you want to be a soldier <br />Be buried in some plot- <br />Maybe far from your hometown, <br />After you have fought. <br /> <br />So you want to be a soldier- <br />Well there's no finer choice, <br />Than giving so unselfishly <br />To freedoms song, your voice. <br /> <br />You want to be a soldier; <br />And you could do much worse; <br />And choose the cowards way to go <br />And walk, behind the hearse. <br /> <br />But your name they'll remember, <br />As they speak of you with awe; <br />And wonder at your bravery, <br />And wonder what you saw. <br /> <br />Many men will shake your hand <br />And thank you for their freedom, <br />They'll say it is a gift from god <br />That you are still breathing. <br /> <br />You'll live more than other men- <br />And suffer much more too, <br />But in the end, you'll count it as <br />The best thing you could do. <br /> <br />And the biggest thank you, <br />That you will ever receive, <br />Is in the eyes of loved ones- <br />When you're back home again. <br /> <br />So if you know an older soldier, <br />Please shake his hand today <br />And tell him that you're grateful <br />He chose the soldier's way.<br /><br />Patti Masterman<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/so-you-want-to-be-a-soldier/
