A SOLDIER LONG AGO


He walked in the sun
Thinking it was a pleasant day
Remembering all that was
So very long ago

He thought he walked alone
And felt the terror of solitude
At night they came to him
Faces of those long past

He never let them go
They were the friends
He never had
Clinging to their deaths

He saw the changes in the world
Around him the seasons
Came and went
Inside he didn't age

His body knew the passing of time
It rebelled against him
Attacking from the inside
He lost a lung to cancer

Even then he resisted
The lessons of life
Still wanting his youth
To be forgiven for the past

Only now in his last days
He begins to see the truth
What has been done
Can not be altered

To live for this moment
And find friendship
In those who are near
To reach out to the past

Then maybe the past will
Show a light
Children not forgotten
But thought lost

Still in need can be touched
The end is coming
And with it a new beginning
Giving your life with meaning

He has found love once more
Where he did not expect it
A gift of body and soul
Redemption for the living

He opens his heart
Love and truth pour in
The chance has finally come
His angels have shown him the way


Michael V Hechtman