Bobby Poem by Mitchell Hood

Bobby was barely nineteen, clean cut, tall and lean
Came straight out of highschool and joined the Marines
Had pretty good grades, played on the football team
Never got in much trouble, had aspirations and dreams
He loved his mom, kept his friends, planned to marry his honey
Joined up just to travel and make a little money
It was a cold night in December, he weighed anchor off Maine
Jumped a cab to a bar with his buddies, Mark and Wayne
They sat down at a table, threw back a beer or two
Laughed for a little while, told all the jokes they knew
Midnight rolled around, Bobby stood up and layed down his tip
Said to the guys, 'I think I'll turn in, ' and headed back to the ship
He walked out into the street, looking up at the snow
Then heard a woman's frightened voice scream out, 'No! '
Suddenly alert, he peered in the direction of the cry
And spotted a pair of bodies in the corner of his eye
He rushed to the aid of the woman being attacked
And heard her pushed against the dumpster with a resounding smack
He dove on the attacker, hauling him to the ground
The two exchanged blows, rolling around
All of a sudden, Bobby froze, his eyes opened wide
Overcome by a pain that burned from inside
He tumbled off his opponent and onto the snow
Looking down at his chest as his blood began to flow
He pulled the knife from his ribcage as the assailant ran off
He couldn't mutter a word, only an agonized cough
As Bobby lay dying in the cold, empty street
He thought of all the dreams that he'd left incomplete
He thought of his friends, of his girl, of his mom
Then fell still, before a wintery scene, snow falling so calm