To the Patriots out there...This is for you.

You know...The Fourth of July is this weekend.  It's important to me for a number of reasons.  But thinking of freedom, life, and patriotism lately...inspired this.  The spacing's a little funny, but I can't seem to fix it.  Either way, it's from my heart.

There at the parade
You see many sights
But none can evade
That one on the right.


The breath of all took,
The crowd looks on straight.
A hush, and all look;
Soldiers walking in gait.


A flag is then raised,
The Red, White and Blue,
Hats drop and eyes gaze
At the symbol of true.


Freedom was fought for,
Lives have been lost.
To live through a harsh war
Some know the real cost.


And yet, as the crowd stands
And watches the scene,
I spy in a Vet's hand
Something less seen.


This man looks no different
Than you or than I,
Except in the instant
That the flag goes on by.


You likely wouldn't know,
But he'd been in the war.
He knows why they go,
What we're fighting there for.


He's lived the hard life.
The impossible way
That men carry on
Each long suffering day.


A glance in his mind
You would probably spy
Something close to the kind
Of 1775.


Crying for freedom,
Searching for peace,
A war to be won
On impossible fees.


These men fought bravely,
As many now do,
And find strength in waving
Of Red, White and Blue.


This man I assessed
That day at the fair,
How was I to guess
He'd seen much more there?

 To some just a man
Others, Father by name
You can see in his tan
He works hard just the same.


His hands are worked rough
From yardwork and war,
But dear to the touch
Of a child of four.


His back still gets sore
"From the weather", He'll say,
But really it's more
From the bullet that stayed.


And yet, no one's been,
No one's seen what he's seen
Of the lives that are taken
Across the ravine.


Sometimes is said madly,

"They are doing no good".
He bites his tongue sadly,
and thinks, "I did what I could".


The bravery of them
Is unmeasurable for me.
The humility of him
Is as deep as the sea.

 There's a look in his eyes
When he hears people speak
Of a soldier that dies
While fighting that week.

 His own buddies lost-
They died saving his life.
But without their great cost,
Mine wouldn't be mine.


There's so much to say
The iceberg's barely been tipped
But the part of the day
That I'll never forget


Is watching his stance,
How he fought back his tears
Shaking, raised his hand,
And remembered the years.


I will never quite know,
Prob'ly won't understand
The true story of those
That fight for our land.


All I can say
Is, How grateful are we
For those whose lives pay
So that we can be free?


So this is for you,
If you've fought in a war.
Whether this soil or not,
It's worth fighting for.


To fathers now sonless,
To wives without husbands,
To those who ask God bless
The lives of their loved ones.


To those now preparing,
To those who have fought,
To those currently fighting
For freedom to be bought.


We raise our hands
To the Red, White and Blue,
And offer our thanks
For soldiers like you.


Yes, there at the parade
You see many sights
But none can evade
That one on that night.

This land is free.  I don't think I really realize that as much as I should.  I am free. I have knowledge of what is right, wrong, and can gain knowledge in whatever I wish.  I think the best knowledge of all is who I am, what I need to do in this life, and why I am here.  And that lives were lost for That freedom as well.  Thank You, to Joseph Smith and countless others.  Most of all, Thank you, Heavenly Father, for everything.

Love, Me.