His speech is soft and vibrant with the messages of truth,
And he says some things of duty that I cannot understand;
It may be that I'm selfish, but this ending of his youth
Is not the dream I cherished and it's not the thing I planned.
I only know he's bigger in his uniform to-day
Than I, who stand and watch him as he drills, have ever been;
That he sees a greater vision of life's purpose far away,
And a finer goal to die for than my eyes have ever seen.
I wish I felt as he does, wish I had his sense of right;
With the vision he possesses I should be supremely glad;
But I sometimes start to choking when I think of him at night--
The boy that has grown bigger, yes, and better than his dad.
The Boy's Adventure
"Dear Father," he wrote me from Somewhere in France,
Where he's waiting with Pershing to lead the advance,
"There's little the censor permits me to tell
Save the fact that I'm here and am happy and well.
The French people cheered as we marched from our ship
At the close of a really remarkable trip;
They danced and they screamed and they shouted and ran,
And I blush as I write. I was kissed by a man!
"I've seen a great deal since I bade you good-bye,
I have witnessed a battle far up in the sky;
I have heard the dull roar of a long line of guns,
And seen the destruction that's worked by the Huns;
Some scenes I'll remember, and some I'll forget,
But the welcome he gave me! I'm feeling it yet.
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