It's about to be
The 4th of July!
I can't wait to watch fireworks
Light up the sky!

There'll be a parade,
With bands and a clown.
Everybody'll be there,
In the center of town.

Then we'll go for a picnic,
And there's just no tellin'
What all we'll have;
But for sure, watermelon!

Happy Birthday, America!
You're a wonderful nation;
We show how we love you
With this day of celebration.

But my Grampa has told me
This day means something more;
When my Dad was a baby,
Grandpa went off to war!

He gave me the key to a trunk in the attic
Let me go off on my own to explore.
Said, "Look all you want, then come back and ask
If you'd like to know anything more."

I slipped into Grampa's campaign jacket;
Read an old newspaper, too.
It told how the war had ended,
With fighting, we were through.

I found some letters tied with ribbon,
Grandma wrote them long ago.
She always said she and the kids were fine,
But they all sure missed him so.

There was a picture there of Grandpa,
Taken when he was far away.
The funniest thing about that picture?
It looks so much like Daddy today!

I went back downstairs to talk to Grandpa,
He had lots of stories to tell;
He said it wasn't really swearing,
When soldiers say "War is hell"!

He told of how young folks today
Are free to do what they wish;
To honor their flag or to burn it,
To serve their country or stay home and fish!

They can say what they like about gov'ment,
With no fear of going to jail;
They can enjoy their personal freedom,
And enjoy life hearty and hale.

They are free to enjoy this wonderful life;
That's true for you and for me;
They're not even forced to remember,
That this freedom wasn't free!

Many brave men, and now women too,
Have fought for us folks big and small.
And many came home in pieces,
And some didn't come home at all.

So I'm practcin' my salutin' -
I will, I will get it right! -
'Cause I'm very determined to honor
Those who bravely have joined in the fight.

I'll still love the fireworks and melon and such,
And still will enjoy the parade;
But now when I salute the flag as it passes by,
I'll remember brave men.....             
               .....and the sacrifices they made!

© 2001 Peggy Swycaffer