Look What they’ve Done Johnny

Look what they’ve done Johnny

Johnny before the dust settled on the

September Day we knew, while miles

Away we would mount up, ruck up

And suck up and head that way

We hurried up and waited and

Waited some more, We qualified

And sat through briefing and briefing

Waking each other through the boredom

And we signed our lives away.

We leaned forward to get there

And built pallets of gear and formed

Forever friendships that most don’s

And can’t understand

Finally we shipped out and

The ramp dropped. We fought hard

We fought hunger, fought years of neglect,

Fought years of tortured pain of

The war torn and beaten.

We built roads, schools, villages

And we built trust.

We opened classrooms

To girls, and opened their minds

And their eyes to a better way

Towards hope and a new vision

Of possibilities.

We returned home to mend fences

That could not be repaired with

Bonds broken and forgotten.

And Johnny, I cried when you died

Not over there but in an empty forgotten

Parking lot.

And Johnny I am glad you

Didn’t see the loss in a blink of eye

The failed wasted exit, Negotiated

By a coward out of fear seeking

Some empty holiday

On a calendar and some

Campaign Slogan

We armed those bastards Johnny

And let them run our gates

And load our planes.

Look What They’ve Done Johnny