Unanswered Questions
Vic Jefferies
For reasons better left unsaid this year I did not march,
I chose to go and stand instead beside the cenotaph;
there beside me on the pavement stood an old man and his wife,
the lines on their faces betraying a sadness in their life.
I could not help but notice the sad tears fill each old eye
as they watched the veterans go proudly marching by;
I thought of sons or daughters, of brothers, perhaps a mate,
of a burden grown so heavy it had bent them with its weight.
But when the old man took his lady gently by the hand
and they turned to speak to me, I began to understand.
The old man's voice was tired and echoed years of pain
as he said,"Son, could you tell us, would you do it all again?"
"You see, Mum and I recognise those medals that you wear
for on our lounge room wall at home there hangs a similar pair;
the Army sent them to us with a lovely telegram -
instead of sending back our son from that war in Vietnam."
"Oh, we know we're old and foolish and it was long ago,
but we think it might ease our pain if somehow we could know
just what the men like yourself think about that war today:
was it worth our Jimmy's life and the price we've had to pay?"
Silently, I cursed the politicians and their evil kind;
I cursed their precious Jimmy for the pain he'd left behind;
I cursed the Vietnam war for robbing me of youth (and God forgive me )
I cursed these poor old wretches now asking for the truth!
Thoughts and sounds and faces came rushing to my mind
as I struggled with their question to find an answer that was kind.
How often had I sought that answer - searched night and day -
but the hope I saw in their eyes told me what I must say;
So I mouthed those words I'd heard fools pronounce before:
about sacrifice and courage and the glory to be found in war;
I told them how their Jimmy now slept in a hero's grave
because he'd offered up his life so others he might save.
And to those of you who hold the truth sacred in your heart,
I'd ask you to reflect upon the pain it can impart,
for I've no doubt they knew the truth perhaps better than did I,
but they'd chosen long ago to seek sanctuary in a lie.
Then the old man shook my hand and his wife's smile was sweet
as I watched them shuffle off on their old and weary feet
but when they stopped another - my heart nearly burst with pain
as I heard, "Son, could you tell us; would you do it all again?"
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