More Poems by Bob Rotruck
December 2007
Bob Rotruck, CW03, United States Navy, (RET)
Daddy, Come Home!
My
birthday is coming up soon,
We’re
having a party about noon.
Daddy
can’t you come home,
I
don’t want to party all alone.
We
just celebrated Veteran’s Day,
I
did the best I could to pray.
Thanksgiving
is coming soon,
We’re
having dinner about noon.
Daddy
can’t you come home,
I
don’t want to eat all alone.
I
will say a very special grace,
And
pray that I will soon see your face.
Christmas
is coming soon,
We’re
opening presents way before noon.
Daddy
can’t you come home,
I
don’t want to see my presents alone.
I
will say special words about baby Jesus,
And
pray that you see him too with us.
And
now a year has come and gone,
Daddy
you’ve been away much too long.
Daddy
can't you please come home,
I’m
growing up, but I don’t want to do it alone.
I
will say my prayers at bedtime tonight,
And
pray and pray that you are safe and all right.
And
now a stranger stands at our door,
I
don’t know why he is there for sure.
I
heard him say it is with deep regret.
Mommy
is frowning, her brow in a fret.
She
drops to her knees and begins to cry,
I
look at the stranger and I don’t know why.
His
uniform is like Daddy’s, I wish it was he,
But
your Daddy’s not coming home, you see.
He
is safe in heaven with Jesus above,
But he sends you his undying love.
Daddy
has gone home!
ROTRUCK – ‘07
Black Sedan
One of
parents and spouses most terrifying fears,
Has haunted
many people for many years.
When we have
loved ones overseas,
Many of us
spend time on our knees.
We pray to
our God Almighty above,
That He will
spare the ones we love.
They are the
men and women who serve our nation,
They do it as
volunteers at their military station.
They stand in
harm’s way on foreign soil,
It is
dangerous, dirty work requiring much toil.
They put
their lives on the firing line,
Sometimes
death is as thin as a dime.
And moms,
dads, and siblings wait,
They hope and
pray they don’t have a date.
A date when
the black sedan stops in front of their door,
A military
officer steps out and walks solemnly, for sure.
He carries a
message from the Commander-in-Chief,
It is written
with tenderness and grief.
The letter
opens with, “It is with deep regret,”
No need to
read further, the tears flow, sure as a bet.
You stare at
the officer; there's a tear in his eye,
He knows that
your child didn’t have to die.
He could
have stayed home and let others carry on,
But he knew
in his heart that his friends had gone.
But
he wanted to do his part for our nation,
And off he went to the receiving station.
And the last
thing he said when he got into the recruiting van,
was, "Don’t worry,
mom and dad, you won’t see the black sedan."
God bless our military men and women!
ROTRUCK– ‘07
World War II pillow cover, collection of Patricia Cummings
These poems are the intellectual property of Bob Rotruck and are automatically copyrighted to him. We are pleased to present them here, for your enjoyment. Should you have any questions, please send them to: pat@quiltersmuse.com