The American Flag
by  Joseph Rodman Drake 

When freedom, from her mountain height
Unfurled her standard to the air,
She tore the azure robe of night
And set the stars of glory there.
She mingled with its gorgeous dyes
The milky baldric of the skies,
Then from his mansion in the sun
She called her eagle-bearer down
And gave into his mighty hand
The symbol of her chosen land. 



A Soldier Died Today

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, everyone. 
And 'tho sometimes to his neighbors, 
his tales became a joke, 
All his buddies listened, 
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. 

No 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, 
quietly going 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 
Some jerk 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 sometimes disproportionate 
to the services 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 our Bob's and Jim's and Johnny's 
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 really want some cop-out 
with his ever waffling stand? 
Or would you want 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 the paper that might say: 
OUR COUNTRY IS IN MOURNING, 
FOR A SOLDIER DIED TODAY. 





God and the Soldier, we adore,
 In time of danger, not before.
The danger passed and all things righted, 
God is forgotten and the Soldier slighted. 


Author Unknown

He went where others feared to go, 
and did what others failed to do. 
He cried, pained and hoped-- 
but most of all he lived times-- 
never to be forgotten.



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