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Post by Samccaleb on May 26, 2006 0:15:56 GMT -6
More Than Me
I carry two stars on each shoulder, But they don’t make me a better man. I hide behind them, They are my defense against the pain. You say soft words of comfort, That only I can hear, But my true self doesn’t listen, Its too busy cowering in fear. I lost my most prized possession, To a war that I agreed to fight, He lost his life to that same war, Now you stand before me, His death on your lips, And all I can do, Is make sure my artillery is Going where it should. We drink a toast to a kid you barely knew, One that I raised and supported, And yet you mourn him more than I, Because the General is never weak, Even in the face of death. I’ll go on with my life I’ll perhaps remember him, But the one thing I will never forget, Is the stranger, Who loved my son more than me.
For some reason earlier, I was watching an episode of M*A*S*H that really stuck with me. It was about this kid who comes into the hospital with shrapnel in his leg. A General arrives, who is his father. Throughout the episode, there are little conversations between father and son and some interaction between Hawkeye and the General. Basically the kid dies and the father goes back to business as usual within 5 minutes of finding out his kid is dead. It stuck with me, because despite the facade of a loving father, Hawkeye, who barely knew the kid, seemed to care more about him than his own father. Thus the poem.
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Post by thecrazybeautiful on May 29, 2006 18:43:21 GMT -6
"I carry two stars on each shoulder, But they don’t make me a better man." Great lines. That's a sad story, but you did really well writing about it. Good job
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Post by Samccaleb on May 30, 2006 1:44:26 GMT -6
Thanks, glad you liked it!
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Post by Laura on Jun 9, 2006 11:38:50 GMT -6
This is probably my favourite that I've read by you.
"I carry two stars on each shoulder, But they don’t make me a better man. I hide behind them, They are my defense against the pain"
--such a sad, intriguing, suck-you-in beginning.
"His death on your lips, And all I can do, Is make sure my artillery is Going where it should"
--this is a creepy kind of sad. Very well done.
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Post by Only Me on Oct 24, 2006 12:41:38 GMT -6
intense. I am amazed that you posted this such a long time ago and I never knew it... I think I saw that episode of M*A*S*H. We live sad and pathetic lives... I agree with Laura this is one of my favorites from you...
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