An American Veteran

Alone traveled the homeless veteran of sorrow
with no dollar had he to borrow.
He wore a weather-beaten jacket
and he was very asthmatic.
His face was always red
and the ground was his bed.
Each day he traveled far
along the side of the tar.
He once stood tall
among them all.
He had a dream
and he was apart of a team.
But now he is not very young
and he works by using his tongue.
From town to city he goes
begging and scavenging clothes. 
His odor was similar to a skunk
and he had to pillage through someone's junk. 
His hair was bushy, curly, and greasy
and he overtime became weary.
Once he came upon a lady's dog
who had been stuck under a log.
He saved its life and many more to come.
yet no one who witnessed would share even a breadcrumb.
So today he began another travel
hoping that a new life would unravel.
Once a soldier, always a soldier
tossing his circumstances over his shoulder.
Now, ten years past
his life is a blast.
Working for a coffee shop
using a broom and a mop.
A home, a dog, a car
no longer will he sleep by the tar.