SOLDIER IN THE RAIN

I’m just a soldier who stands in the rain;
My memories of home are what keep me sane.
Back home is a land of milk and honey,
Ruled by lust and love of money.

But, what can I say, when I serve her true,
For I volunteered to see this war through.
Now, that I’m here, it's hard to believe,
We're just the victims of those who deceive.

As darkness falls on the rice fields of Nam
Scared men with rifles walk the shadows of the calm.
It's thousands of miles to the steps of my church,
With its stained glass, steeples and lost souls who search.

Off in the distance I see an arc light,
Bombs being dropped on children at night.
I've seen that evil they call the "yellow rain,"
And how life withers when it's sprayed by a plane.

All of my buddies have been taken away,
No more touch football will they ever play.
Zipped in their body bags for the long trip home,
Are some of the bravest, I've ever known.

War is a hell, devised by man,
There's death in the sea, the sky and the land.
Lord, I can’t help but wish I were home,
Back with my love, whom I hope is alone?

By Tom Zart