poems

 

 

old men

 

Old men meet to talk of old battles
From a war that was fought long ago
We were right, they were wrong, and we won it,
That’s all one needed to know

Half a century has passed all too quickly
And time seems to clean up the slate
Tall tales and old stories need retelling
Tomorrow might just be too late

They speak like it happened this morning
And go back to the time they were young
Time screens out the scenes that were hated
And softens the song that was sung

In each man there now lives a hero
That embellishes much of their past
Few cowards are found on their memories
None shirked or tried to be last

None callously ordered men forward
Where it was stupidly wrong and in vain
None jumped from their craft in a panic
Leaving two crewmen to crash with the plane

Old men who just talk can hurt no one
So listen to what they might say
And weigh all their words with compassion
Sometimes truth is not too far away

Listen, but don’t give them the power
To decide between truth and a lie
For when it comes to the human condition
Old men talk, may mean young men die

 

-William Waddington 1990

 

 

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