Ghosts

I saw a ghost today,
Hiding behind the trees.
I smiled at his branch rifle,
Because that ghost used to be me.
Hiding from danger,
Commanding his invisible soldiers.
As I walked by, I grinned at my attempted captor.
I said "Boy, I am the general of these pines here,
Now open your lines.
There's no need to picket, the enemy isn't here."
He stepped back, saluted.
So proud he was of his army.
Oh my Lord, life was so simple then.

I spent my youth running in the woods,
Climbing over Civil War battle grounds,
We were so sure were there.
Listening to Daddy's stories on his knee,
Waiting for more,
About his cowboy days,
Up Indian's Head Rock,
Down to the water's shore,
And watch the sun disappear,
Then crawl back through the woods to our home.
Oh my Lord, life was so simple then.
We may have grown up and not had a lot,
But oh my God we were loved.