As babes, we
laughed, romped and played
Together in our youth.
We shared the joys of childhood
And lived on love and truth.
But soon our feet chose different paths
When we were just young boys.
Our hands then picked up plow and gun,
When we laid to rest, our toys.
Johnny joined the service.
A farmer, I became.
I chose a path of human need,
But fighting was John's bane.
Our thoughts then took much different views
And caused us both to part.
E'er since, we traveled separate roads,
Especially of the heart.
My life was filled with bitterness...,
No word I heard from John.
Unlike those years of innocence,
When we, not two, were one.
As years passed by, my hurt had dimmed,
For life had served me well.
I had a wife and family now,
And many tales to tell.
There had been a sense of emptiness,
Although I had so much,
I longed to see my Brother, John,
Though we never kept in touch.
I traveled home aboard the train
To our place of birth and youth,
To capture all the wasted years
That I denied the truth.
How would my brother greet me?
Would my words bring him a smile?
I, then wrote some words on paper,
Though I weighed each word awhile.
I asked some local people
If they knew my Brother John,
And they told me I could find him
In a place just out of town.
I followed their directions,
But his place, I found too soon,
For the world around me darkened,
Although the time was only noon.
A flag, a wreath, a marble stone,
Carved on it, cross and crown,
Had been placed there in remembrance
By the people of the town.
"Here lies the young John Bailey,
He died with gun in hand,
Fighting for his country
And the Brotherhood of man."
My heart became so heavy,
and my eyes, soon welled with tears,
As I thought of all the hatred
I had harbored through the years.
As I said goodbye to Johnny,
On his grave, I left my note.
Though it all seemed rather useless now,
The words that I once wrote.
"Forgive me Brother Johnny,
For the wrongs that I have done,
And I pray we'll live to see the day
When we two again, are one!"
As I left his place behind me,
I had hoped he understood,
That I finally found the meaning of
That word called "Brotherhood!"
