Fly With Angels Poem by Ted L Glines

Fly with Angels
by Ted L Glines

Hail! Darrel,
And Welcome to you!
You took so long to come home.
So many years
Laying in bed,
Helpless, unable to roam.

Remember the days
Of your vital strength;
The man that you once were,
Before a gun blast
Took you down,
And years became a blur.

It's hard for a man
To live like that,
Attended in every need;
Flat on your back,
No limbs that moved,
Your days were endless, indeed.

Your son and your daughter
Miss you tonight,
And your wife is grieving sore,
But they know you've passed
From out of your pain
And your spirit is free once more.

So, Darrel,
Hail! To thee,
We greet you with delite.
You've come to the Land of Summer
And you fly with Angels tonight!
Forever Blessed Be.


Author's Notes: 9 January 2004, Darrel Burkeen died, after years of being helpless in bed as a quadraplegic (no feeling below his neck) . A retired U.S. Marine, a robust man and a wonderful father and husband. An active man who loved the outdoors, driving, and guns. Darrel was shot by his brother and lived the remainder of his life in the cage of a non-working body. This poem is a requiem, a crude Rite of Passage for a good man. May he rest in peace.
Semper Fi