Semper Fi

Semper Fi
My father met Eleanor Roosevelt
In 1945
The war at last was over then
And they were still alive
Her husband was the President
Till he ran out of time
Her Franklin D. was history
And they'd put him on the dime

My father joined the leathernecks
To stay out of the mines
The new marine was just fifteen
In 1939
There were medals and malaria
The south pacific war
Through jungles that were paradise
And were paradise no more
Soldiers fight and soldiers die
Soldiers live to wonder why
Semper fi fe fo fum
Look out peacetime here we come
Some of the men who did survive
Were not the lucky ones
War is only good for those
Who make and sell the guns
My father lay recovering
The hurt was all inside
Sometimes the wounds that never heal
Are easiest to hide
When Eleanor came bearing gifts
To San Francisco Bay
She gave my dad a blanket
In the hospital that day
That blanket meant a lot to him
My mother has it still
Some forget the kindnesses
That others never will

Soldiers fight and soldiers die
Soldiers live to wonder why
Semper fi fe fo fum
Look out peacetime here we come