the river was filled with fish
Yet the fish did not swim
They floated to the top
Withering away
May God  grant us better days 

I was just a kid when my daddy
Went off  to war 
My mother was always watching - waiting
For the dreaded knock on the door

Daddy was gone for 3 long years
When daddy came home
There was shame and guilt
Long suffering tears

Mama was a nervous wreck 
When daddy finally came home
She had learned to ration our food
While daddy served in a combat zone 

Daddy looked different 
He once had hair
Now he was bald
And all I could do was stare 

Daddy never smoked 
Not a cigarette one 
When he came thru the door
His chain smoking begun

Daddy said he was a box of nerves 
And I’d hear him cry at night
He’d go to the barn 
His demons he would fight 

Each year I grew older
I felt wise beyound my years
I tried to avoid my daddy
All he could do was drink his beer 

I loved my daddy 
More than anything in the world
But war had made him different 
No longer was I his little girl 

Daddy got sick his lungs hurt him a lot
The battle of the bulge he said 
Made his insides hurt
He said he felt like gut rot 

Daddy had a Purple Heart
I didn’t know what that meant 
He kept his Purple Heart 
In a box by his bed 

I was 12 when my daddy
Suddenly Passed away
Mama cried and  cried
No one knew what to say 

Mama took me aside 
And gave me a little box
Inside was my daddy’s Purple Heart 
Mama was too upset to even talk 

Underneath the heart
Was a little note tucked inside 
All it says was I love you 
I fought and I tried 

Now that I’m grown
I think about my daddy a lot
I pray he knows I love him
I’ll never forget him- I know how hard he fought