The Toughest Mission

[good4somethingbum]

The Toughest MissionIt was a fifty dollar ride in that gypsy taxiI sat quiet with my duffle in the backseatAs we drove out to my buddy’s country cabinI pulled out his Bible and thought of what’d happenedHeard him sayin’ how he missed his lady’s browniesHow clothes hung in their yard smelled like roses and DowneyBut what was pressed between that Good Book’s pagesTold me I still hadda be strong and courageousCos the toughest mission was the lastMy brave face was nothin’ but a maskCos I’d carried friends through ash and flameKnowin’ if it was me they’d do the sameI’d passed ev’ry test and finished ev’ry taskBut the toughest mission was the lastAs we pulled up she was clippin’ American Beauties“For Sale” sign taped to the tank of his old SuzukiWe talked a spell and I told her how I found herShe asked me in and I sat by her kitchen counterThere were overdue bills stuffed in a napkin holderBetty Crocker coupons peekin’ from a tattered folderShe offered me some brownies and brewed some coffeeThen I opened that Bible and spoke slowly and softlyCos the toughest mission was my lastMy brave face was nothin’ but a maskCos I’d walked for miles in the blowin’ sandFought by the moon down to the final manI’d passed ev’ry test and finished ev’ry taskBut the toughest mission was my lastThough I didn’t wanna tell her how his jeep explodedHe’d hate it if his story was sugarcoatedThen I said he didn’t leave a photo or a letterJust a simple token of the life they shared togetherHis dad'd wept over his flag and she slept with his medalShe still fell apart when she saw those faded petalsI held her close and we talked of honor and dutyWhen I left the wind whispered through her American Beauties“The toughest mission was your lastyour brave face was nothin’ but a maskCos you carried me through ash and flameKnowin’ if it was you I’d do the sameyou passed ev’ry test and finished ev’ry taskBut the toughest mission was your last”Yeah, the toughest mission was my last…©2007 Robert George