Caskets

on arriving planes

bring home our boys

their sad remains

back to this land

which was their own

America

they're finally home

 

Salutes abound

sad bugles play

and medals shine

but can't repay

what was the price

of this sad day

these boys came home

in graceless ways

 

At this sad sight

there was no joy

these boys found death

through their employ

in fighting wars

made on pretense

these endless wars

that make no sense

 

Now mothers grasp

at flags draped on

the coffins that now

hold their sons

and wives and children

weep aloud

such mournful sounds

from shaken crowd

 

This cannot be our finest hour

good lives were wasted before they flowered

these were our brave who fought the cowards

in no-win wars they soon discovered

these are the wars some would pretend

serve us somehow a greater end

to war they always seem to rush

but who is to say which wars are just

 

These fine young men ran out of luck

now their remains return to us

in sadness how we rue the day

as over them we humbly pray

that such a waste might finally end

just think of what they might have been

let these be the last, let wars adjourn

God save us from such sad returns.