When he was five, his mother
bought him a toy cannon,
And he played war with his friends.
His father was proud of his war efforts.


When he was six, he broke the toy cannon,
And cried in his room all day.
His father told him big boys don't cry,
So he choked back the tears and went
on with life.


When he was ten, his mother bought
him a machine gun
That sounded just like the real ones.
All his friends had guns, and they
played war in the backyard
Under the watchful eyes of their
proud parents.



When he was thirteen, his father told him
To throw away the machine gun,
Because big boys don't play with guns.
He wanted to cry, but remembered
What his father had told him
when he was young.



When he was eighteen, Uncle Sam
bought him a rifle,
And sent him off to war.
So he went to war, wondering about
What his father had told him when
he was young.



When his parents got the letter,
His father cried.

---Ron MacLean