What Might Have Been
His thoughts oft wander to a girl he left
at a time that was way back when.
He wonders about things that have long been lost
and things that might have been.
He left to join a terrible war
that was threatening all mankind.
He dreamed of adventure and a holy cross,
and left his girl behind.
He wrote at first, almost every day
about drill, and things he'd learned.
The war would soon be over, he'd boast,
and to her he would return.
But he learned that war's not a gentleman's game.
It has no place for fair.
Kill or be killed was an everyday theme,
and death lurked everywhere.
The days moved by at a grinding pace.
The war drug on and on.
Devastation took the place of grace,
and mayhem pushed all along.
Wars finally all come to an end,
and he was shocked at what he'd become;
a hard and calloused and angry man,
with all his senses numbed.
He sat in the bar at a quiet cafe‚
with thoughts of way back when,
and of the pretty girl he'd left,
and of things that might have been.
By Ron Cole
© 2012 Ron Cole
(All rights reserved)
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