Ronnie's Dad

Both our Dads were away at the war,
Young Ronnie Hibbert and me.
Ronnie's Dad was somewhere out East
And our Dad was somewhere at sea.
We tried our best to help our Mums,
They missed our Dads really bad.
The thought of my Dad without clean socks
Made my Mum quite sad.
It seemed to go on years and years,
But then, one day, no more!
We were looking forward to seeing our Dads,
Of that you can be sure.
I remember the day our Dad came home,
As fit as a fiddle and brown.
My brother and I, we went rather silly
As we ran about the town.
"Our Dad's come home
And he's really looking well!"
We forgot about Ronnie,
He was going through hell.
The Hibberts had got a letter
From some Commander in Chief,
And what the letter told them,
Was really beyond belief.
Mr Hibbert's regiment had gone out into the jungle one day,
And that's the last last they ever saw of them,
So the army was, "Sorry to say."
Whether they'd died fighting or just disappeared,
No one seem to know,
But the worst was feared.
"Lost, presumed dead,"
Is what the Hibberts were told,
Just thinking of Ronnie's Dad
Made me shiver with cold.
Then, one day, we were sitting in class,
Doing our writing, I think.
Yes, that's right, my nib was bent
And my hands were covered in ink.
There he was at the window,
Looking very tired and thin,
And although we'd never seen him,
We all knew it was him.
"It is! It's my Dad!" shouted Ronnie.
"We knew, we all knew he wouldn't die!"
And none of us ever thought we'd see
Our teacher, Miss Wallis, cry.

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