“In honor of our Veterans”

I was sitting on a park bench, in a small country town,

And a very old man, decided to sit down,

He told stories of the town and how that park came to be,

And he talked about its people and that town’s strange mystery.

As in many small towns, that park’s the gathering place,

Especially on the holidays, there are smiles on every face,

They reminisce about old times, old veterans and more,

Like the three hometown heroes, they lost in the first World War.

Three brothers from one family, who grew up in that town,

It’s been over one hundred years, since they laid their lives down,

There was Bobby, Floyd and the oldest was Mike,

Bobby and Floyd fought in Germany, where they sacrificed their lives.

No one knows Mike’s full story, they say he was never found,

Like some kind of ghost, he was simply gone,

Just like that very old man, who had just sat down,

Looked away for a moment, then looked back and he was simply gone.

Those brothers fought for freedom, like heroes always do,

They made the ultimate sacrifice for the red, white and blue,

So, they built a Veterans Memorial, right there in that park,

To honor all the heroes, they hold dear to their hearts.

To raise money for it, they placed a box in town square,

Everybody donated what they could, even children gave their share,

They once saw a very old man, with a large envelope in his arms,

As they debated who he was, like some kind of ghost he was simply gone.

When they opened up the box, they were still short of their goal,

Then right there at the bottom, was that large envelope,

When they looked inside it, they were amazed at what was there,

Some WW1 medals, Purple Hearts and some dog tags… three pairs.

There was a large sum of money, in a check to that town,

Plus, a short note to the people, among the things they found,

So, they built that park to be the very grandest around,

And now they honor their heroes, every day in that town.

The day the Memorial was revealed, the whole town was so proud,

And that was the only time, that short note was read  aloud,

    It simply said:

 “They say you can’t go home again, 

 But home is where we’ve always been, 

 We sacrificed our souls, for freedom to survive, 

 God bless this little town, who keeps that freedom alive”.

Well, sometimes I go back…  that small town to see,

And sometimes, somebody sees me.

Sitting on that park bench, all by myself,

Telling this strange story, to somebody else.

THE END