November 9 / 2014
What's in a Name
I'm everyone, I'm no one, I'm an unknown fool,
I'm young and I'm old; I'm not taught in school.
I'm every mother's pride and every lover's dream,
I'm dead and I'm alive; I'm much older than I seem.
I've heard the sounds of battle; the larks up on high,
I've read the evening papers with a teardrop in my eye.
I've seen my country grow, the true north strong and free,
I've seen the maples flying, from sea, to sea, to sea.
I'll never understand how my life was short and sweet,
I'll cry tonight at the sight of more bloodshed at my feet.
I'll lie in state forever; a century more or less,
I'll be unknown for all time; my name is just a guess.
I came from the prairies, or maybe it was Guelph,
I can't remember the day I died or much about myself.
I lived among the living, now I lie among the dead,
I come alive once a year with poppies on my head.
My life was shed with many until I found a place,
My name's unknown, I'm a ghost, a man without a face.
My tomb was hardly noticed until another lost his life,
My brother in arms, today we lie amid the drums and fife.
I am the unknown soldier; long lost in the Great War,
I bore the burdens of the past and kept danger from our door.
I stood on guard for Canada and all that we can be,
I gave my life for Canada, the true north strong and free.
