When Time is Right

A man I knew
Once pledged himself
To loyalty and crew.
He took a plane and uniform
And watched home fade from view.

His dogtags bounced against his skin
Baby daughter by his heart

Bullets dodged and ankle broke,
He trudged on til surrender spoke.

Beat up, one more plane to catch
His little girl, now three.
Ears pop again as landing hits
“God, thanks for saving me.”

Two weeks had passed,
Normality
Had taken up its course
“Daddy, push me!”
Higher still, he told her “Dear, of course!”

He smiled wide,
But something grew
Something evil, something new
A final scream, he called her name
Dropped to his knees,
A look of shame.

No heartbeat left.
A body gone.
The goddamn heart attack had won.

The little girl up in that swing
Three years young that day
Knew only that her life had changed
But how, she couldn’t say.

She whispered “Daddy?” one last time
And raised her voice up loud
“SOMEONE BRING HIM BACK TO ME,
“PLEASE GET HIM OFF THE GROUND!”

My dear friend, here, we see an act
Of heartless, cold dismay
When God says that your time is up
He takes it all away.
No minutes earned to say goodbye
No mercy will he give.
God needs you somewhere else at once
There isn’t time for “one more month!”
I didn’t say you’d die tonight,
I didn’t say stars would collide.
Just know that we live on a string
Defenseless to most everything

So keep them close.
Hold them tight.
Wish upon that star tonight.
Have a laugh
A drink, a hug
Hot chocolate in ceramic mugs.

Know everything is breakable
The end is unmistakable.

So shut the light.
And say goodnight.
The time will come, when Time is right.