Standing tall

A young man, a soldier,
one leg torn away
teetering in the lobby,
of the downtown hotel
… that day.

Balance, mind and body
all astray,
he heard a noise
and quickly turned away.

He fell, sliding to the earth
on the hard lobby floor
fucking leg; he yelled
what a bloody curse.

They all rushed,
not sure what to do
then across the room,
a yell was heard;
Stop! Leave him where he is,
and everything went hush….

The man walked over,
looking down he said;
Your badge, is the regiment
that I was in….

Do you need a hand,
or would you prefer to stand.
Struggled to his feet,
nothing to be heard, not a peep.

Sweating at the brow, he made…
he made himself, stand tall.
Putting out his hand, he said
Glad to meet you sir, the pleasure
is all mine; and thank you,
I’ll be just fine!

The pleasures mine young man
I knew you’d want to stand
tall and proud,
not needing our helping hand.

Standing tall, a nod, a wink
how life changes in a blink
regardless, what you think.

Then a smile between old friends
it seemed.
Regardless of their ages, been
they both knew what they’ve seen.