I stood and looked at your grave today
Remembering the love you gave me
The morals you taught,
and the love for a country so strong

Once upon a time you stood for this country
Through two wars and countless conflicts
And left a family who loved and missed you
To do the honorable and right thing

You weren’t drafted
No one forced you
You volunteered
For all the hardship and lousy pay

And you did all of it with pride
Honoring your country
The flag and those gone before
Meant the world to you

Once you returned you made sure
To teach us all the same beliefs and values
No matter who is in charge, this country is ours
It will be what we make it, but you have to be active in the building

Some of us followed your path
Joined and served – voluntarily
With pride, honor and strong beliefs
And the best part was you were proud of us for it

I fly the flag every day Daddy
As you taught me to do
And I will always think of you when it waves
And salute it with pride and love

Now I am the one left behind, by you
And the man I married
Who is so much like you it amazes me
But I know you would approve

Many friends of mine who you knew
Are in other countries fighting battles not their own
And doing it with the same pride and love for country
We all got to learn a little of from you

I miss all of you
My heart aches, the tears flow when I hear certain songs
But I also swell with pride
for none chose an easy path

Many attack or protest their existence
Our flag, our country, our policies
Not foreign governments but our own people
Yet those special few stand with pride and smile anyway

They know, as did you
That without them there would not be all the liberties
So many take for granted
Without a thought for what all of our men and women give up

A father misses his child’s birth
A mother cries while clutching the blanket of her baby left behind
A son is unable to go to a funereal he should attend
A sister misses a wedding she should be in

And though they are sad,
They would do it again
Because these men and women are unlike others
And have in their hearts a higher purpose

They are the red, white and blue
Their hearts will always swell as the flag is raised
Their bodies will stand strong no matter how tired
Their mind is always on the next mission

I thank them today and everyday
For my life would not be what it is without them
And I think of you, gone now, but not completely
And the ones I love, so far away but always in my thoughts

-Copyright May 30, 2005 Rebel in Boston