Accidental Poet

In Memory of Ronnie Blanchard

In Memory of Ronnie Blanchard

1946 - 2003

I remember you Ronnie

Like it was yesterday

And here I am now

Thirty years later missing you today

You came home from Nam

Not quite the same as you left

The memories and pain in your heart

The crime of your sanity theft

With shells exploding dangerously close

Bullets hissing through the air

One caught your best friend

And he died in your arms then and there

Home you came with more than you left

In your eyes I saw the war raging on

If I could I’d take away your pain

Just a wave of my hand and POOF, it’d be gone

In our cars, we passed each other one day

You turned around just to talk with me

You in your’77 Camaro Z28

And me in my ’72 Ford LTD

I was ten years younger than you

And like brothers it seems we became

Infatuated with muscle cars

It didn’t matter of the brand names

Oh, how we talked of carburetors

Hurst shifters and Cragar SS wheels

The insane pull of a big block

How insatiable and rewarding it feels

Far too few were those moments we shared

For I often think of you as my big brother

Wishing you were still here

The laughs we shared with each other

As I stand here at your grave

Speaking to you this way

I sense you’re with me

My big brother today

Copyright © Accidental Poet 2011