19 June 2012
Embankment nights are cold and dark
A chill is in the air
Shining faces flecked with rain
Reflect the streetlights glare.
Paper bags, worn out shoes
People on skid row
Among the figures, huddled there
I see a face I know.
Goodnight Joe!
Your coat from the Asian war
Your Sunday paper blanket
And the ribbon that you wore.
They say you were a hero once
G.I. in Vietnam
Purple Heart pinned on your chest
The pride of Uncle Sam.
Couldnt bear the things youd seen
Forever wondering why
You took your consolation in
The bourbon and the rye.
Goodnight Joe!
Your coat from the Asian war
Your Sunday paper blanket
And the ribbon that you wore.
In sleep you dream of napalm
And memories of My Lai
Good guys that never made it home
And big birds in the sky.
Now you no longer wonder
Your eyes gaze down again
At a faded purple ribbon
In the Colorado rain.
Goodnight Joe!
Your coat from the Asian war
Your Sunday paper blanket
And the ribbon that you wore.
You took your consolation
In the bourbon and the rye
You sat and watched with weary eyes
Each passing face go by.
And now youve give up searching
Your eyes gaze down again
At a faded emerald ribbon
In the cold embankment rain.
Goodnight Joe!
Your coat from the first world war
Your Sunday paper blanket
And the ribbon that she wore.
TOM MAY
Goodnight Joe • Opuss № I