I Wish I Had Said Thank You

Two words never said

A lifetime of regret

I knew many veterans

Toothless WW1

He schooled me on Bully Beef

With a thousand-mile stare

WW2

Flyers and marchers

They all drank and laughed

Never talked about the war

Even if you asked

They would buy me beer

I always thanked them for the pint

Never for their sacrifice

They never asked

Except Old Jack

He would demand my freedom be paid for with drinks.

Pull a nickel-sized piece of metal out of a ring box.

"Tear your fuckin' arm off. This is what they took out of me."

I acknowledged

"Another one for Jack."

They say he used to lie on the tracks

Waiting for the train to take away his pain

His last years were spent in a veterans home

Among comrades who understood

I hope he found the understanding

And the peace that he bought for the rest of us

I never said thank you.

Two simple fuckin' words

And wearing a poppy

For a day

Does not seem enough.

Thank you.

Please

Even if you have no memory of them

Please never forget the freedom that they gave you.

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