ONLY A DAY

ONLY A DAY

He’s a boy only a day
So soon will grow up from the childish way
The hours are few that he delights in Daddy’s hug,
The dart of a butterfly, sand at his feet.
Too soon comes the moment he must confront the world,
Wartorn, in turmoil.
He must give all to sow peace and love to change that world
For those who will follow.
He’s a boy only a day.
Dear God, give him strength for all life, I pray.

Ann Patterson

Written in 1964 when I watched my little boy with his hands in his pockets look up at his father and say, “Daddy, I’m big.  I’ve got pockets.”  Tracy Dean spent 26 years of his life serving in the United States Air Force “helping to change the world for those who would follow.”