SON OF AMERICA

Poem I wrote in in a bar in 1980, while I was living back in South Africa...

That Asian war you fought – was it all for Uncle Sam?

Did it seem so fair to you when the blood of America ran?

And can you still remember how “Charlie” killed your friends

And the bittersweet homecoming for the Purple Hearts that bled?

 

Son of America – hero of the War

Do you still remember what the scars are for?

They said you all were heroes but they didn’t give a damn

They left you to find your own way when you returned from Vietnam.

 

Death was in the jungle – you were always on the run

Your buddies were the losers in a war that no one won

They made you all those promises that just turned into lies

One too many promises – far too many goodbyes.

 

Son of America – hero of the War

I know you get the feeling you’ve been down that road before

They said you all were heroes but they didn’t really care

They threw you out onto the streets when you got back from there.

 

You walked out on a high wire and they pretended not to see

The prison that they’d made for you that meant you’d never be free

When you finally made it home everybody called you ‘son’

But you were old beyond your years – another war had just begun.