The voice on the tape is a young man.
Just a young man who
misses his wife, his little girl;
A young man with hopes and dreams for the future
he will never see;
A young man far from home
trying to transport himself there
by his voice.

The voice on the tape is a young man.
A young man home on leave,
teasing his little girl
and laughing with his wife.
A family, untouched for the time,
by the war so far away.
But the war invades --

The voice on the tape is a little girl
talking to her mommy.
Just a little girl and her mommy.

---

Copyright © 1992 By Melanie Brown, All Rights Reserved

---

Melanie can be E-mailed at: SFdaughter@aol.com

Her Web Site is at: http://members.aol.com/sfdaughter/daddy.html

---

"To the Children Left Behind"

By Melanie Brown

Do not be ashamed to remember. Your fathers were proud men who deserve respect. It is okay to hate war; it is even okay to hate that time and place called Vietnam, but it would be a disgrace to hate the men who fought it.

Do whatever it takes to remember them. Whatever works for you is right. If you choose to remember the good things instead of the bad, that's okay. If you want to put your father on a pedestal, that's okay, too. It's your birthright. Know that they weren't saints; but know that they were good, proud men.

At those times when others would rather forget, you go on remembering. Sometimes it is just too painful for them to remember ... be gentle with them. When they are able, they will share with you. And at those times when you feel like you're the only one who cares that your father ever existed ... and there will be those times ... share those feelings with me; and know that someone else understands and does care.

---

Copyright © 1991 By Melanie Brown, All Rights Reserved

---

Melanie has also written a poem "My Father's Hands" which was published earlier.