Dear Soldier Boy

Dear Soldier Boy

What acts of bravery

Have thou committed

Through mosquito ridden waters

Or on very dusty, unfertile soil

Dear Soldier Boy

They tell me you are a grunt

Who lives and sleeps out in the field

Far away from the safety and security

Of the garrison you were ordered to leave

Dear Soldier Boy

I see where you lived

In the water-filled foxholes

Day in and day out

No time to dry out properly

Dear Soldier Boy

Your physical ‘n mental strength tested thoroughly

From the extremes of elements

To the walking of the hilly, sandy terrains

Carrying the heavy loads of equipment

Dear Soldier Boy

You trudged constantly 24/7; rarely sleeping

Always on the guarded lookout

For the enemy, the sniper

Or the possibility of setting off a land mine

Dear Soldier Boy

How fast you became a man

You gave up a lot of yourself

You were a mortar man in the infantry

A numbered Marine “grunt”

Dear Soldier Man

I understand, now,

How hard it must have been

To provide a happy-go-lucky smile

For you lived a hard life in the War of Vietnam

© Copyright: MahTame,

AKA Melanie C. Campos 04/29/2007