Flag of Hope-David Roth

[ti:] [ar:] [al:] [by:时间戳工具V2.0_20200810] [offset:0] [00:10.18]David roth flag of hope [00:12.49]The year was 1944 [00:15.73]And I was 21 [00:20.63]A million miles from california [00:26.45]Carrying a gun [00:30.90]My country sent me overseas to battle the big red [00:41.21]I found myself in burma with a helmet on my head [00:54.02]The countryside near sittaung is serene and peaceful ground [01:04.34]Where towering teak trees touch the sky and bamboo shoots abound [01:14.65]But on this day in '44 [01:19.74]The sky was filled with fumes [01:24.97]The landscape stained with mothers' sons in bare [01:31.57]Unearthly tombs [01:43.17]The victory was ours that day [01:48.28]I scanned the start terrain [01:53.73]A flash of color caught my eye across this fruitless plain [02:04.48]I knelt to find a piece of cloth beneath a fallen gun [02:14.88]I took it as a souvenir [02:20.06]As if I'd ever need one [02:25.18]The allied force prevailed and the war was winding down [02:34.56]And still I had the souvenir I'd picked up off the ground [02:44.64]The cloth turned out to be flag [02:49.73]A silken rising sun [02:55.58]I took it home to california when my tour was done [03:15.59]I showed the flag to friends and family [03:20.96]Proof of how I'd served [03:25.70]I justified the japanese had got what they deserved [03:35.88]But every time I took it out I felt a pang of guilt [03:46.17]I thought of someone's growing boy [03:51.61]Who'd grown up to be killed [03:57.54]To wish a strong and young soul well in godforsaken lands [04:17.41]I found a name and wondered if that's all that did survive [04:27.39]And now koju muramatsu [04:32.32]I've found out that you're alive [04:40.53]I can't express the flood of thoughts that rivet through my head [04:50.44]For forty years I thought the soldier of the flag was dead [05:00.59]And now I've found out differently [05:05.42]I can't tell you how I feel [05:11.20]Today a souvenir of war became someone so real [05:24.57]Though common threads that bind us all afford the greatest cost [05:34.58]Regretfulness in retrospect won't make up for those lost [05:47.34]I hope this finds you well and strong [05:52.49]I pray you comprehend [05:58.56]That somewhere in this twist of time there's a newly humbled man [06:11.79]Your rising sun is shining bright in shimmering array [06:22.69]Your flag of hope [06:25.59]And love [06:26.84]And light [06:28.49]Returns to you this day