when Taps is played.
when Taps is played
we are at attention
saluting
a soldier only some of us knew.30,000 feet above
through a cloudy crying blue sky
a fighter plane screams.nothing can be said,
really,
for a dead man
I didn’t know.the Commanding General
nods his head
at words repeated
over a thousand times.he died for liberty.
he died so that others may be free.
he died a hero.nothing is said of politics.
nothing is said about the city
two million people who don’t want us here
hundreds of children throwing bricks
gunshots in the night
martyrs waiting for us to gun them down.nothing is said about the bullet that tore a soldier’s throat out.
when roll is called
there is only the sound
of a Private First Class
who does not answer back.Copyright 2005 -- Scott Kirkpatrick -- All Rights Reserved
May not be used in whole or part without written permission of the Author