Unsung Hero

Weary eyes
     a dreary disguise
          to the heart that lies within

Calloused hands
     a shadowed man
          no light for the soul in him

Generations of soil under his nails
   In his dreams to Uncle Sam he hails
A bullet scar to remind him
   There was no hope we would ever find him

To us he was Grandpa, Paul, and Dad
   But under his disguise
      What we could never realize
         The truth that remains so sad
   He was our unsung hero

Bravery on the battlefield did not compare
   To the battles fought in his daily life
The job greeting him with each sunrise
   To provide for seven children and a wife

A thankless time and a thankless land
   He worked to the bone every finger on his hands
      Until the shadows grew too dark
            And so was the man we knew
               But beyond the shadows it is so true
   He was our unsung hero

Copyright 2000 Lauren Blackstone