If I had a son

He’d be just like me

Only I don’t have a son

The war took him away

If I had a son

He’d fight for what’s right

He’d stay away from guns

Love the world and its people

But I don’t have a son

Only memories and pictures

He never got a chance

To make a better world

And now they are saying things

I find hard to believe

About sons and mothers

About right and wrong

If my son’s ghost came back  

He’d shake his head

Say: “Dad, what went wrong

While I was over there?”

How could I answer him?

What could I say to explain

Away the utter emptiness

That swallowed us all up?

Say: “Son, I did what I could

But they swallowed us up.

Swallowed you up. I’m so sorry.”

I cannot forgive this emptiness

But If I had a son

We would march together

Fathers and sons across the nation

Filling up emptiness with life and love

Peter Buknatski

Montpelier, Vt.