Poetry Directory

The Folded Flag

She was just 3

Hiding behind her momma’s knee,

When they told her

Her daddy, a young soldier,

Wasn’t coming home today.

They buried daddy

On a warm summer day,

Hugging the folded flag

They quietly walked away.

20 years later,

Her man proudly wore the blue.

The badge on his chest,

Was untarnished and true.

Sometimes goodbye really means goodbye,

She wished that she had knew,

To hold him once more,

To hear his footsteps at the door,

How will she live with her heart broken in two?

The baby that was born

When she was alone

Became a man,

As boys will do.

Coming home late one night,

He saw a fire burning too bright,

And did what heroes do.

This folded flag,

Who did it cover today?

A soldier in green,

A cop in blue,

Or just a man who became a hero today?

This folded flag,

With white stars sailing on an ocean of blue,

Its threads are the hopes and the dreams,

Of many heroes of the red, white, and blue.

Poem copyrighted © 2004 by Lydia Warner Miller

Web site copyrighted © 2005 by Lydia Warner Miller