My Father was a Soldier

by David McDonald
(Fife, Scotland)

My father was a soldier,
a man of honour and pride
I never knew how loved he was
until the day he died
Then came the calls of sympathy,
of support and of love
All these men from his life before
would bear him on shoulders above

I talked to most and asked of them
“please tell me of this man”
“I never really knew his life
and I want to know all I can”
They spoke of one who stood beside
when all others would flee
No matter what the peril they faced
“he always stood by me”

They spoke of my father as a hero
and told tales which had me in awe
I could not believe this quiet man
was the man that they all saw
I knew then I had not bothered
to ask my father what he had been
I never spoke to him about his past
or of the things he had seen

My father was not just a soldier
he was a hero to me and my kin
We stood by his grave with a new found pride
and smiled as they lowered him in
His place of honour was assured with God
our hearts were swollen with pride
The man we knew as our father
had given us something special inside