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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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