A silver haired man in a uniform
With his cracking voice and glistening eyes
Recalls the thunder of a battle’s storm
As stars and stripes ripple in azure skies.

The anthem’s sweet wavering melody
Rides through ruffling leaves on a gentle breeze
Evoking emotion and memory
Of freedom’s price paid o’er distant seas.

A twenty year old dunce nudges a friend
While nodding toward the silver haired “dude”
Snickering maliciously at the blend
Of weakness and frailty, open and crude.

Observing the scene, my child on my lap,
I see, re-defined, generation gap.