i'm no hero...

by Gary Jacobson © 2000

The lady said, “Heroes sit here,
In our most honored chair,”
“I don’t mean to sound insincere,”
I replied, “but where do I sit,”
“Because I’m no hero. No, not a bit.
I just went where my country told me to go.
There was no question, there was no pause,
Nothing there that should merit applause.

I’m no hero!
Just because into the breach of hell I did go.
For men of honor have no choice
Than to join in the shout with freedom’s voice
I didn’t think about it, I just went,
To join the army of soldiers sent...
Wouldn’t anybody?

I’m no hero!
I would rather not have had to go,
If there was another way I don’t know.
Sure, I’ve got a purple heart for the time I bled.
People saw me then, thought I’d soon be dead.
But I survived the war winds foulest blow.
Escaped the master of death in embattled mist below.

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