You Can’t Go Back To Rockville

From foreign soil,
You’re flying home today.
Tears stream from your Mother’s eyes,
As she waits for your return,
Alone at the station of Rockville.

Her mind savors long, lost memories.
How could they all have forgotten
The medals, the scholarships, the trophies?
All of them, he has won
For the honor of Rockville.

The crowds are gathering.
They’ve taken your resting place
For another more worthy, they say.
You don’t belong here, they cry.
Your place is outside of Rockville.

They don’t care who you were
Or how far you had gone.
The only thing they can see
Is the color before their face.
It just can’t be so, but it is.
You’ve fought and died for their right
To keep you out of Rockville.

copyrighted 1989, Roger Gibby

Notes:

The title of this poem was inspired by the REM song entitled (Don’t Go Back to) Rockville. The subject matter of the poem was inspired by a movie, which I have now forgotten the title. The movie was about a black soldier (WWII I believe)  in the south, who was a decorated war hero and died in combat. His body was being shipped back home and the townspeople would not let him be buried within the city limits.