A Hero

A poem about a man in the Vietnam War.

Ding...Dong,
Ding...Dong
Sounds the bell
ringing it's mournful song

Bodies numb
frozen in time
the wife and children cry
wanting not to believe their eyes

The man had left
against his will
to serve and protect
or die

In uniform he dressed
a gun in hand
forced into a battle
he didn't understand

No longer a boy
but barely a man
he did what he had
to survive

Aiming and shooting
beating and killing
bodies falling to the floor
he's unable to take anymore

Then he thought of his family
his kids and his wife
what they would do
if he'd end his life

So he pushed forward
to try and defend
the ones that he loved
back home

He dies in a war
but what for?
The reason,
never made clear

Now he's carried to his grave
for reasons unknown
his wife and kids wave
goodbye, now alone

Ding...dong...ding...dong
The bell rings its mournful song
almost, as if to say
a hero has died today
-Just A. Nobody