What good is a medal?
A symbol
A simple lump of metal
Clasp over the shoulder
Hung over the heart
To show the world
How good you are.
But really
What’s worth it?
What meaning does it clasp?
It doesn’t bring your boy back.
Back from the war
Trompin’ up the path.
Would you be more proud
He’s alive
Than a dead hero?
What good is a medal?
An honorary salute?
He’s gone.
All we’ve got is a memory,
He went out with the glory.
~
This lump of metal is cool
Burning in your hands
His were warm
With fingers to entwine
And now there is a ghost
That hovers in the house
By the medal kept
Clear of dust
No, he does not come back
But his memory never did fade
Away into the black
To startling remind you
When you sweep past
A memento of his
The good the medal is
Is a picture of time.