Please remember - freedom is not free

Remembrance  Day

He  was getting old and paunchy
And his hair was falling fast,
And  he sat around the Legion,
Telling stories of the past.

Of  a war that he once fought in
And the deeds that he had  done,
In his exploits with his buddies;
They were heroes,  every one.

And tho' sometimes to his neighbours
His tales  became a joke,
All his buddies listened quietly
For they knew  whereof he spoke.

But we'll hear his tales no longer,
For  old Bob has passed away,
And the world's a little poorer
For a  Soldier died today.

He won't be mourned by many,
Just his  children and his wife.
For he lived an ordinary,
Very quiet  sort of life.

He held a job and raised a family,
Going  quietly on his way;
And the world won't note his passing,
Tho'  a Soldier died today.

When politicians leave this  earth,
Their bodies lie in state.
While thousands note their  passing,
And proclaim that they were great.

Papers tell of  their life stories
From the time that they were young.
But the  passing of a Soldier
Goes unnoticed, and unsung.

Is the  greatest contribution
To the welfare of our land,
Someone who  breaks his promise
And cons his fellow man?

Or the  ordinary fellow
Who in times of war and strife,
Goes off to  serve his country
And offers up his life?

The politician’s  stipend
And the style in which he lives,
Are often  disproportionate,
To the service that he gives.

While the  ordinary Soldier,
Who offered up his all,
Is paid off with a  medal
And perhaps a pension - though small.

It is not the  politicians
With their compromise and ploys,
Who won for us  the freedom
That our country now enjoys.

Should you find  yourself in danger,
With your enemies at hand,
Would you  really want some cop-out,
With his ever waffling stand?

Or  would you want a Soldier -
His home, his country, his  kin,
Just a common Soldier,
Who would fight until the  end?

He was just a common Soldier,
And his ranks are  growing thin,
But his presence should remind us
We may need  his like again.

For when countries are in conflict,
We  find the Soldier's part,
Is to clean up all the troubles
That  the politicians start.

If we cannot do him honour
While  he's here to hear the praise,
Then at least let's give him  homage
At the ending of his days.

Perhaps just a simple  headline
In the paper that might say:
"OUR COUNTRY IS IN  MOURNING,
A SOLDIER DIED TODAY."