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Originally Titled,
"JUST A COMMON SOLDIER"
by A. Lawrence
Vaincourt ©1985
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
had 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 neighbors, his tales became a joke,
All his Legion
buddies listened, for they knew whereof he spoke.
But we'll hear his
tales no longer for old Bill has passed away,
And the world's a
little poorer, for a soldier died today.
He will not be
mourned by many, just his children and his wife,
For he lived an
ordinary and quite uneventful life.
Held a job and
raised a family, quietly going his own way,
And the
world won't note his passing, though 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 their
whole 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
A guy who breaks
his promises 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?
A politician's
stipend and the style in which he lives
Are
sometimes 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 small.
It's so easy to
forget them for it was so long ago,
That the old Bills
of our Country went to battle, but we know
It was 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 want a
politician with his ever-shifting stand?
Or would you
prefer a soldier, who has sworn to defend
His home, his kin
and Country and 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, then we find the soldier's part
Is to clean up all
the troubles that the politicians start.
If we cannot do
him honor 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 a paper that would say,
Our Country is in
mourning, for a soldier died today.
© 1985 A. Lawrence
Vaincourt
Dear Jack, Thank you for your message. Of course you may continue posting this poem on your web site - as you may know it's on hundreds of sites around the world, some with permission and some not. I guess that's just the state of the web! I handle most requests for reprints of my father's work. Unfortunately this poem appears in many locations as "author unknown" so we appreciate when proper credit can be given - although I don't know who it was who contacted you. Perhaps you might also include a link to a page devoted to my father's work at: http://www.vaincourt.homestead.com Thanks again for adding the credit. I'm honored to see this poem has come to mean so much to so many people, particularly at this troubled time. -Randy Vaincourt
http://www.vaincourt.homestead.com/Common_Soldier.html - The Official Vaincourt Website presentation of "Common Soldier."
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