The doctor gave me some pills,
Said these will help you sleep.
My eyes are getting heavy,
I think they are going to work.

My room is dark and quiet
I will finally get some peace.
The soothing sounds of music
Thunder and lighting fill the air.

The lighting of tracers,
The sound of dying men.
The thunder of the rockets,
I'm going back again.

Now I'm safe, I found a hole.
You guys are dead,
How did you get in here?
What do you mean, we're going for a walk?

I hate this time of year in the Delta,
There's red dust everywhere.
Wait, I think it's going to rain,
The red dust turns to red mud.

Frank, where are you going?
You've got the point again?
Step lightly brother, stay alert,
The ***** are all around.

Hey, Lt. let's take a break.
This radio weights a ton and hurts.
Yes Sir, I know, everyone has problems.
Yes, I'll be sure and tell the chaplin.

From the front, a M-16 on rock and roll.
I think Frank has found a problem.
Yes Sir, the radio is ready,
I think we are going to need some help.

Everyone spread out, find cover.
But watch out for traps where you go.
Radio guy, get over here, now>
**** I don't want to move.

He called the birds, help is on the way.
I see the tracers, going out and coming in.
Is it my imagination, is my radio the target?
My 16 is so hot, I grab one from the ground.

The captain calls our position,
Everyone drops and hugs the ground.
We can hear the jets coming
And hell is what they bring.

Something is not right,
I'm choking on the dust.
We are walking down a road
Me and the dead looking for a enemy.

I've learned to live with the
Loud ringing in my head.
But now it is drowning out the
Sounds of the bullets and guns.

The heat and fear, I'm soaking wet.
The sounds and smells cover me.
The mud is pulling me under.
My wife is shaking me awake.

The smell of ****** and burning bodies,
Gun power, burn pits, rice paddies, bugs.
You can leave the war behind,
But it follows you home.

God, my baby came to live with you
And she left some things behind.
This pink brush it was her favorite,
I would brush her hair before bed nightly.

She is going to be scared God,
Could you have an angel
Help her brush her teeth before
Bed, and maybe tell her a story?

I've brought some things for her God,
To help her  through the days to come.
I have her fluffy kitten and a night light
To help her sleep.  Just for a while please.

She will hide under the covers,
So hard to wake in the morning.
Why am I telling you this?  She is Your
Angel and You already know her.

Have patient with her Lord,
She is just a little girl.
If she draws on the clouds or
Laughs too loud, just love her.

I don't know why you took her,
Or why she had such pain.
I would rather it had been me
And not Your newest angel.

When I was young,
I knew all the answers.
And now I realize,
I didn't know the questions.

The echo of my footsteps
As I walk past the porch,
The creaking of the rocker
As the breeze gives it a life.

Tell me a story cvhair,
Of all that you have seen:
Boys and girls on their bikes,
An old man and his walker.

Up a tree runs a cat,
Chased by Tommy's dog.
She rocks and has a smile
As neighbors go by and wave.

She sits in her rocker and
Watches she roses bloom.
Someday I will stop my walk
And take a minute to visit with her.

Today as I take my walk
I will stop and say hello.
There's the echo of my footsteps
As I pass her empty chair.

By the side of the road
There stood an old house,
It's windows were shuttered
A rusty old car in the yard.

It's been how many years
Since this was a home?
Where once stood a fireplace
Now sits a pile of stones.

Rain through the roof,
Wind through the walls.
A lifeless cold building
Where once there was warm.

If you listen in the twilight
You can hear the children call.
Chasing lighting bugs and
Calling Ally,Ally All in free.

Here I am, it is 2am,
Sitting at my counter.
What did I do today?
What will I do tomorrow?

The cats and dogs,
Dreaming animal dreams.
  I wonder what
  They dream about.

My mind is free to wander,
Nothing to hold it down.
What do I really want to do?
  I will listen to the quiet.

A walk in the garden
Your warm hand in mine.
The sound of silence
Fills the air.

Listen, can you hear it?
A butterfly tiptoes across a rose petal.
A breeze carries a babies cry,
This is God talking to us.

Can you feel the warm
Upon your cheeks?
God loves you, and His Son
Is giving you a kiss.

I saw the soldiers
Marching off to war.
Lean, strong and hard
Like young lions.

I went to a mirror and there,
I saw a grey haired, over weight old man.
How did this come to be?
What happen I ask myself.

Then I closed my eyes,
And listened to the band.
Here they came,
The young men off to war.

And there in their midst
I saw myself again,
Marching with my men.
And we were all so young.

The evening twilight covers us,
The scent of Lilacs wisp the air,
A sensuous  musky aroma
Draws me to a beautiful woman.

Her taught golden body calls.
Flowing silken hair, like sun rays,
I can not disturb her
As I tiptoe to her side.

The warmth of her hand
As she caresses my cheek.
The flame inside of me
As I wrap my arms around her.

My fingers, softly and with feeling
Lead my hand down to her hips,
As her hands firmly and surely
Pull my face to her lips.

A flash, a spark of flame
From my lips to my toes.
And my blood boils and steams
As the passion fills my soul.

Her waist so firm but yielding
As I pull her cvlose to me.
I kiss her damp neck as
My hands slide up her back.

A caress against her skin,
But not to hug too hard.
This hot luscious body
Wrapped in my arms.

Her musky scent fills me
As my lips touch her neck.
Slowly going around and down
To her moist trembling breast.

A mist fills my mind.
The smoke of a dream,
As she walks and talks
And gives me her hand.

A dream that feels real,
  But we know better.
A dream carries you off
But you always come home.

You grasp to hold on
  But too tightly and
The dream, like smoke,
  Vanishes into the air.

Then you sit and stare,
Will the dream reappear?
  It will not come back
But it is always right there.

Why do the clowns
    Have to die?
They take their lives,
Please tell me why.

His world is always happy,
  He is not like you and I.
A clown is always funny
  He never gets to cry.

He hides in darkness
When he sheds a tear.
For he's a clown and
Can never show his fear.

I took this special flower,
    Just a bud back then,
And pampered and tended it
   I knew it cam from him.

    Sometimes it stuck me,
Roses have thorns you know.
    But I'd wipe my tears
   And help my flower grow.

I would protect my flower
When winter storms came:
And wait for spring time
   To gently call her name.

  I loved that flower,
   And I always will.
This was her last winter,
And my garden is so still.

Don't cry for me.  There is
Always a flower in my heart.
  And when I see a garden,
    We are not apart.

   In my garden,
Was a special flower,
God sent for me to tend.

Driving down the highway,
Going from here to there,
Lights in all the windows
I want to live somewhere

Someone's home, the lights
Are bright and all aglow.
No rest for us tonight,
We've many miles to go.

Dad's asleep in the front seat,
It is Mom's turn to drive
Rusty is asleep in the corner,
There is barely room for five.

We are always on the move,
From this fort to that post.
A home that stays forever
That is what I want the most.

I am by myself
But I am not alone.

I hear a song
From 50 years ago
And a memory
Tiptoes thru my mind.

I am by myself
But I am not alone.

I hear children laughing
And playing in a park.
  And in my mind
I hear my children playing.

I am by myself
But I am not alone.

A teenage boy and girl walk by
Laughing and holding hands,
I smile thinking to myself
How young we once were.

I am by myself
But I am not alone.

A song, a laugh, a kiss,
They bring memories to life.
And everyday with memories
I am wrapped in love.

I am by myself
But I am not alone.

The years have come
The years have passed,
All I can think is
They have gone so fast.

I remember thinking of
The things I wanted to do,
New places and people,
Every day would be new.

Now here I am,
Tired, old and fat,
Sitting in my rocker,
Me, my dog and cat.

Every day I would watch
As the trains went speeding by.
Next one, I told myself,
A ticket I would buy.

"Hey dad," I heard,
"Let's do this, let's do that"
Still sitting in the corner
Is my bag and my hat.

The kids are gone,
It is my traveling time.
The ticket is a quarter,
I've two nickels and a dime.

Back to my rocker,
I'm on the road I know.
My mind is full of wonder
For the places I didn't go.

There is a train a coming
I hear it down the track.
Like music to my ears
Clickty clack, clickty clack

Hop on boy, I hear
The conductor yell.
You're going for a ride
And get to ring the bell.

I see the cars are full
With folks I used to know.
The conductor has a smile
And says,"It's time to go".

I'm not ready, things I need to do.
He says,'grab your and and come along,
No pills, no pain, just hop on board.
We need your voice to join in song."

I stepped into a car and
With a step there was less fear.
Every where I looked only
Smiles. Not one single tear.

"All the tears are left behind."
Said the conductor with a smile.
Sit back and enjoy the ride,
This is the final mile.

You've been at all the stations,
You've used up all your time.
Time to catch the train now
It's coming down the line.

Clickty clack - clickty clack

As I tiptoe past her door
In that room, in that bed
My darling sleeps.

The thought of her touch,
Her kiss, inflames my body
Like the taste of Spanish wine.

I open the forbidden door,
The hot musky aroma of a woman
Fills my senses and mind.

I look at her,
She is stretching her body
Like a lioness on the plain.

My breath catches, she sight,
Every movement she makes
Is poetry in motion.

The light from a lamp
Sparkles from her hair,
A river cascading around her face.

The movement of her hips
Like a moth to a flame,
Draws me lustfully towards her.

Nag, Nag, Nag
That's all I ever hear.
When I get up in the morning
Till I go to bed at night.

When she wakes in the morn
I think she has a list
If I'm not doing this
I should be doing that.

Hard to believe but
She thinks I'm a slob
Why just last week I
Picked up a sock.

Just the other day
She went to get some ice
"Why is the tray empty" she yelled.
Why?  There was a cube left in it

We went to a party,
I think I flunked a test.
"Are you wearing that" she ask
" I put it on"  I said

"You left the lid up again
What shall I do with you?"
Being nice I said" There's
A porta-***** for you."

No more nagging
Will I hear.
The dog's inside
And I'm out here.

It is dark in here.
I can feel the sunshine
And hear the birds.

It is dark in here.
Outside the laughter of people
The sound of traffic.

It is dark in here.
A door is open, there's a breeze,
I can smell the grass.

It is dark in here.
My sights and sounds
are different than yours.

It is dark in here.
There is no sunshine in here.
It is hidden  by the smoke of the rifles.

It is dark in here.
The voices I hear
Are long dead.

It is dark in here.
Memories are overwhelming
And I'm still alone.

It is dark in here

At home presents are wrapped
Drinking eggnog and spreading cheer.
Got the tree all lit up
It is that time of year.

Toys for Jim and Mary
Robes for mom and dad,
Don't forget Aunt Betty,
It is that time of year.

The house is full of joy,
The're parties everywhere.
The kids are so excited,
It is that time of year.

Say a prayer for Tommy,
He's in Viet Nam this year.
Come on in neighbors,
Let's have a drink of cheer.

There's one more present coming
I helped to fill the body bag.
We shipped it from Saigon,
It is that time of year.

Merry Christmas

Hello,
Can anybody hear me?
I'm calling out but
There is only an echo.

Hello,
Are you out there?
I need to hear
Someone answer.

Hello,
Can you feel it?
The dark and loneliness
Is surrounding me.

Hello,
Can you touch me?
Let me now that
Someone is out there.

Hello,
Can you answer me?
There is such a void
When you are all alone.

The memories are closing in
I fear there's no escape.
The things I said and things I did
Follow me like a shadow.

A curt remark a smart retort
I thought I was so clever.
How many did I hurt
While thinking of myself?

Never look back to what you did,
Tomorrow is all that matters.
Hurt feelings, broken hearts, no problem,
I have myself to think of.

The years have passed me by
I've grown and put ego aside.
Now how do I apologize
For the pain I left behind?

The breeze moves gently
Through the grass
Disturbing not a blade.

The only sounds
Besides the sobs are
The sounds of butterflys.

I listen closely,
I hear a dew drop
Fall lightly to the ground.

Where is the thunder?
The sound of dying men?
I hear the sound of quite.

Send me your sons
And ask not why.
Give them a hug
And say goodbye.

It isn't a war,
It's just good will
We will take your sons
And teach them to ****.

It isn's a war
It's just good will.
Explain that to  a mother,
See how she fills

What happened to Teddy
And Tommy and Mike.
Little boys playing
And riding their bikes.

Freckles and ice cream
First car and first date.
She looks out the window
And worries, he's late.

A chill passes over,
She awakes from a sleep.
Something is wrong
She can feel it so deep.

The chaplin is here
He knows what to say.
It's just a job
He does every day.

No tears from the chaplin
He does this so often.
Your son's coming home
In a flag covered coffin.

Today I feel like writing,
No pen, no quill, no ink.
Today I will write with color,
I will need a palate.

Let's use some bright blue,
Let the sky fill our sould.
Umber, no, use light brown
Make it smell of fresh earth.

Will need some pink for the
Ballerinas dancing in my mind.
And don't forget the yellow,
Daffodils make me happy.

In the sky a spot of orange
A balloon floating to heaven.
A rich, rich green to
Make you smell the trees.

Put your fingers in the paint,
Joing the fun, spread it around.

What color are you today?

Exit Hero's
1968

We entered a village today,
Our weapons spitting fire.
There was no one to meet us
  No one to share our ire.

So we burnt it to the ground.

Exit Hero's

I looked into the darkness
  And they were there
Some were barely twenty
  A few a little more.

They did not move,
They were dead.

And the war went on without them.

Back into the jungle
Like deadly ghost we went.
I looked behind me,
They did not follow

They did not move
They were dead.

And the war went on without them.

A flash of fire, a terrible pain
  I cry out to my mother.
Wait for me I cried
But no one heard.

I did not move
I was dead.

And the war went on without me.