Freedom Bird Poem by Lawerence Mize, Sr.

Engines roar
Loud as thunder
All alone
Can only wonder

In a box
Dark as can be
Feel the earth
Pass under me

Up in the air
Headed for home
No more will I fight
No longer will I roam

I think of valleys
So lush and green
A land so beautiful
So like a dream

Faces of people
Come and go
Their vills and hootches
Left me feeling low

Felt so sad
At the plight they were in
Came to help
Thought we would win

Relive the horror
Of my final fateful day
The trail and the mine
That blew me away

Rose up above
The carnage and pain
Listened to 'Doc'
As he called out my name

He couldn't save me
I was beyond repair
I watched him work
While floating in the air

So dumb and stupid
The little thing I had done
The trail so flat and smooth
Made me want to run

I took a chance
Thought it would be safe
For just a little while
I needed a break

So tired and hot
Sweat pouring like rain
Gear so heavy
Felt so drained

Heard the snap
Just before the blast
Caught in the moment
Happened so fast

Blood squirted out
From every conceivable hole
So hot and wet
Taking my soul

Starting to fade
As we fly through the clouds
My freedom bird
On it's way to the 'World'

Have to let go
Leave this lifeless shell
Get out of the box
My eternal cell

I know what's coming
What's in store for me
A grave and the ground
Endless darkness with nothing to see.