A Soldier's Tale
The night before he was to leave
He kissed his kids goodbye
And spent the twilight in her arms
The woman of his life
He's on his way to war today
To fight for his beliefs
To stand up for his family's sake
To fight for you and me
With that in mind he walks away
Leaving all he knows
He contemplates on facing death
And still he turns to go
A month into the battle
And he fights with all his heart
Not knowing if the enemy
Is hiding in the dark
He's seen the dead, the bullets fly
Yet still he presses on
Crawling through the brush and trees
He lives to see the dawn
Though he knows it isn't over
He knows he has to fight
He thanks the Lord he made it through
Blessed is he who made the night
And so it was, the battles fought
And still he presses on
Nightmares crowd his restless sleep
Of heroes come and gone
Until the day the transport comes
Taking him back home
This will be the final day
He has to sleep alone
And as the helicopter lands
The air is filled with pain
Bodies fill with bullet holes
Like lakes collecting rain
And so his family vanishes
He's the soldier once again
And he knows he'll never see
His daughter turning ten
He turns and faces death once more
In the form of men
And plows into the hurricane
As if a Lion's Den
He died upon the battlefield
But never did he bend
This is what a hero is
A soldier to the end
Written by
Dale James Ewen
November 12, 2003