Enlistment
Daddy is heading back to war.
He knows he promised you he’d stay,
but there’s no work here anymore.
He’s driven over half the state.
He’s sent out countless resumes.
He’s called in favors from his friends.
At each turn he’s been turned away.
At least the army still needs men.
Daddy will never see us poor,
not after how we put away
the money for this home and swore
we’d have enough for college saved.
Daddy’s recruiter says his pay
should get us on our feet again,
provided Mommy’s jobs are safe.
Thank God the army still needs men.
We are what Daddy’s fighting for.
This bed. That roof. Don’t be ashamed
when kids ask why he’s gone once more.
He also says, Don’t be afraid.
Daddy’s recruiter thinks he may
get stationed stateside till the end,
which, hopefully, is years away
so that the army still needs men.
In case it’s not, we have to face
the truth. So let us pray that when
Daddy returns for good some day,
more than the army will need men.