My father came home from fighting a war,

My friends dad went too, he was in the corp.

But when mine came back he wasn’t the same,

It’s just not him, but he’s not to blame.

He lost some friends when he was there,

I often see him deep in prayer.

I wish I knew what I could do,

But I really don’t know what he went through.

I saw him in the yard last night,

He stared at a star that shined so bright.

I heard him whisper to the star,

“Take care of my brothers, near and far.”

I felt a tear run down my face,

As I watched my father stare into space.

I don’t want him to hurt, it breaks my heart,

I can’t stand to see him be torn apart.

I remember back when we had so much fun,

He taught me to swing in the morning sun.

He made my mom laugh by telling his jokes,

As we lay underneath our big leafy oak.

When I look at him now he’s so far away,

Oh please, dear God please let him be okay.

He’s still my father and I respect him so much,

I miss his kind words and his loving touch.

I know I was lucky, at least he came back,

Some kids received nothing but a flag and a plaque.

I really am blessed that he came back to us,

I remember the day he came home on a bus.

He carried his bag very tightly in hand,

His eyes were so light and his skin very tanned.

My mother then hugged him, her tears gently flowed.

Then we got in our car and drove down the road.

When we arrived at home he slowly walked in,

He stood there a bit and then scratched his chin.

He said it was different, but he didn’t care,

As long as he still had his family and his chair.

He sat down and mumbled, but we couldn’t hear,

Then he dug through his bag and pulled out his gear.

He gave me a coin from the place he had been,

Then he dug even further and gave me a pin.

My dad is a hero, to me and my mom,

He braved all the hatred, the shooting, and bombs.

He’s still out there somewhere, the dad I once knew,

And he’s fighting for justice, the red, white and blue.