A Friend of Ours…

I was in my room when a stranger walked in

Not so tall, but smiling with a long warm grin

He threw his bags, on the cot next to mine

Then he said hello, I said I was doing fine

We sat and talked, for a time you know

One of them northerners, who joked on the go

First time in Nam, he confessed to me

I could tell, I said, you’ll make company

It was my second tour then, experienced and all

As I looked at his face, I could not see all

He went to a College in Washington State

Talked about skiing, on mountains with gate

This guy was not like the rest of us

Had a "Varsity-look" and never road a bus

Educated with character, a strange-brew he was

He had a way about him that made you a cuss

As time went by, we worked together

It was long hot days, our skin looked like leather

This guy worked hard, he was on my crew

Always talked of flying and wanted to crew

Before we knew it, His wish came true

He was John Wayne, with pride he flew

Time went by, then I heard the word

Randle Jones, went down in his bird

That day, I stopped working and picked up God’s Book

Looked for solitude, asked God why he took…

There was nothing, no verse, no word to compare

About how I felt, this cry I sent through air

I always wondered why, I went back home

Soon I returned again, never to be alone

I’m old and wiser now; looking back I’ve grown to see

How life with "Jonsey", was measured in Jubilee, I thank thee…

The "Chicken Man"
9/27/02