~DEAR SIR KNIGHT~

Dear Sir Knight

Dear Little Galahad

Just looking at photos

makes me happy and sad

My only child

my only son

How could I ever think

my job would be done?

If part of the job is to worry

then I've earned my medal of gold;

so many sleepless nights

when you were 16

and acted so bold.......

And when you were 18,

you had left me for good

Tears, wishes, and prayers

dot my night's neighborhood....

And now you're a Soldier,

no longer a Knight

except in my eyes

down deep into the night

I see you in Armor

of newspaper and foil

and imagine you standing

on some foreign soil

Your "tennies" replaced by

tall Army Boots

marching, and fighting;

then working too hard

to get new Recruits.

This time, when you leave,

gear stowed in your pack,

It will take all I have not to yell,

please, please come back!

Ah, Dear Sir Knight

Sir Galahad

My pride and my joy

My heartache and anger

My dear little boy

Go off to your War

and come home at the end

I'll take care of your wife

and your son;

Maybe I'll show him that picture

of you in newspaper and foil

while you are fighting

on some foreign soil.

© Christina 2-23-06

God is here, thou'lt not be lonely
All through the night
'Tis not I who guards thee only
All through the night.
Night's dark shades will soon be over,
Still my watchful care shall hover.
God with me his watch is keeping,
All through the night.

'All Through the Night" original lyrics
by Sir Harold Boulton (1884)
Author of this version unknown.

A Poem by James D. Hughes