A little lad sat all alone, consumed in childish dreams
A football lay by his side, unraveling at its seams.
The final game had just been played, the score was 5 – 2
His football team had lost again but that was nothing new.
Winning or losing didn’t mean that much to this quiet, little lad
What bothered him most and hurt the worst was the absence of his dad.
There were seventeen kids and sixteen dads at almost every game.
And everyone knew why his dad didn’t come but still it wasn’t the same.
His daddy was a Royal Marine, a bootneck all the way.
He’d been in wars and such and often was away.
But then one day his dad came home without his usual grin
And told his Mom they had to talk, his orders had come in.
He heard his father speak of things he didn’t understand
Like duty and honour and country and what’s expected of a man.
His Mom sat awful quietly, her face was etched with fear.
He knew that she had heard some words she didn’t want to hear.
And then his daddy picked him up just like any other day
And said “You know I love you, son, but I’ve got to go away.”
“You know that I’m a Royal Marine and you know what bootnecks do
We board the ships and fight the wars for loved ones just like you.”
To the boy it seemed like that had been a long, long, time ago.
And a boy really needs a dad around to help him as he grows.
To hold the bike when he learns to ride and to tie his boxing glove
But most of all he needs a dad to fill his life with love.
His mother read him letters that his daddy used to write
With strange new words he’d never heard that filled his heart with fright.
His daddy spoke of all the men who helped him fight the war
And how his boss the day before had won the fight so far.
His letters spoke of courage and a gallant brotherhood
Forged of Marines and of sailors fighting for the common good.
And he praised the brave, young warriors – Berets Green and lovets too
And he said “they keep the peace and fight the wars for loved ones just like you.”
Everyday the young boy waited for the postman to come by
For he loved his daddy’s letters but they made his mother cry.
Just how long, the young boy wondered, would his mother have to wait
For his daddy to come walking down the drive and through the gate.
As the young boy ate his sandwich and his mother swept the floor
There appeared two Navy padres knocking softly on the door.
“We regret to inform you” was the way the speech began
Then the mother grabbed her little boy and out the door she ran.
Nestled softly in her bosom, the young boy began to cry
At his mother’s mournful question “Oh Lord, Why? Oh Why? Oh Why?
Even at this tender age, he knew his dad was gone
And that he and his mother would always be alone.
A little boy sat all alone, consumed by childish dreams
A football lay at his side, unraveling at its seams.
He wiped away the tears of youth just as the hearse passed by
“Dad, I don’t want to be a Royal Marine. It makes my mother cry.”
by David Lilburn 2012
