In the fall of 1972
When cosmos waved in the autumn breeze
For miles along the country roads,
And dappled foliage covered the trees,

In South Korea I knew a man--
I'll just call him Sergeant D--
Who was stationed in the city of Seoul
At a U.S. Army post with me.

Buddies we weren't. To tell the truth
I didn't know him very well.
But he was a definite character,
Always joking and raising hell.

Payday would come once a month
And Sergeant D would be in the black.
A few days later he'd want to borrow
Money that he'd never pay back.

That fall Sergeant D
Was "getting short," an expression that meant
He was close to leaving the service.
For him that was an exciting event.

"Short!" he'd yell, on entering the barracks.
"Short!" you'd hear from a block away.
He loved to rub it in, much
To his homesick army buddies' dismay.

To exit the service, he would fly
To California, where a car--
A flashy new model--awaited him
To drive back home--rather far.

So after the sergeant left Korea,
Picked up his car, and headed east,
He died on a California
Highway. Tragic, to say the least.

After having survived two tours
Of duty in Vietnam, this man
Left Korea and died before
His post-army life began!

Life is full of ironies
That always have us asking "Why?"--
Ironies that make us chuckle,
Make us ponder, make us cry.

- by Bob B