Military BRATs

Its a poem I wrote for a school project, but my father read it and entered it in a contest that was going on in the paper, I won for my age group and received $100 for it.

Born Rough And Tough!  They are American Airmen.  We are their children.  They are warriors.  They have answered our nation's call.  While they fight out there in the world;  We fight our own battles close to home.  They are American Airmen.  Their mission is to Fly, Fight, and Win.  They are faithful to our proud heritage.  A tradition of honor,  And a legacy of valor.  For most children the uniform is a costume.  For us it is a symbol, a lifestyle, a memory  That flash of camo at the airport  Signaling someone's come home.  They are American Airmen.  Guardians of Freedom and Justice,  Our nation's sword and shield,  Its sentry and avenger.  They defend our country with their lives.  Better a long wait and a hug  Than that lone walk on the flightline.  To that row of oak and steel  The Folded Flag and 21-gun salute  Cut deeper into the heart than any word or knife.  We move from base to base  Rarely to return.  To Europe, Asia, and beyond  We fly on our parents' wings.  We move so quickly  Those who live in one town for all time  Envy us as we envy them  Adventure is our middle name  Courage, our standard.  They are American Airmen.  Wingman, leader, warrior.  They will never leave an Airman behind,  They will never falter,  And they will not fail.  We grow up fast and speak our own tongue  Full of numbers and letters only we know.  C-17s and F-16s fill our ears  They lull us to sleep as our bedtime song  Planes and training fire are the norm  while we grow in the military's way.  It is a life we know and never shall forget  They call us dependents and military kids,  but  We are Military BRATs  Born Rough And Tough!  HUA

Reviews

[Aimee Mahathy]

Oh my god I loved this! :D I saw you under new writers and saw your location was Bordentown and I knew I had to check you out!
I used to live near there, on McGuire AFB, and how surprised I was to see that you had written a poem about the Air Force! All of this goes straight to my heart, as I grew up like this too~
And the part about civilians envying us as we envy them, I remember all the time wondering what it was like to live off base. And now that I know, I miss it. :/ Mainly because people here have friends they've known and been with since kindergarten! And the oldest friends I have are from 9th grade.
And while I do kind of wish I could've had the kind of life they had, your message here is right. We -are- born rough and tough. We were raised differently and so we can handle it. We didn't need to stay in one place to learn how to live. And if anything, I think we learned more. In the military they raise you to know respect, kindness, teamwork and everything that I think most civilian children miss out on in their regular schools. So it's very beneficial.
This poem really brought me back. Thank you for sharing this! And congratulations on winning that contest!

[ChristianM]

Awesome poem. I'm a military baby I guess because I was only 3 when I moved from Wyoming to New Jersey. My Dad was in the air force as an academy instructor. Awesome poem that shows your pride in our nation's airmen and it made me proud to be an American. Great job. Is this the one you got published?

[Dakota]

Great write! So true for military brats of all branches!