The Echo Of The 21st Gun


I can still hear the echo of the 21st gun
Whispering to eternity, why was this done?

The roar of the jets from Airforce One
Streaking empty into the sun

I can still hear the voice I knew so well
With the ring as clear as the Liberty Bell

‘Ask not what your country can do for you’
Ask only what it is that you can do

I can still see the silent rows file past
The Stars and Stripes still at half-mast

The muffled drums in my heart I hear
The mist in my eyes, sometimes tears

The house of white seems dim with gray
As the casein slowly moves away

The rider-less horse in his spirited way
Trailing the rider this final day

And in black, heart broken, stricken with grief
Our gallant first lady walks by in the street

God love those children left by her side
He is gone from them without even good-by

On a sloping hillside, by an eternal flame
I see the stone in the ground bearing his name

Again comes the echo of the 21st gun
The roar of the jets from Airforce One

A nation stands silent, saddened and stunned
There was so much of him yet to be done

This day I’ll remember helplessly
This tragic loss and assassins deed


William F Mahoney 1927 - 1998



To Daddy


To Daddy… born a humble man,
who loved the land he knew,
who shared his bounty endlessly,
with convictions, strong and true.

To Daddy… beloved, father and friend,
who lived to nourish our days,
with encouragement in every dream,
by giving and with praise.

To Daddy… ‘til we meet again,
where in God’s love you wait,
hand in hand with those we love,
inside of Heaven’s gate.



© 2010 JVD.