The Whole House Served

Twenty years, six different states One flag folded on the gate You signed your name at barely nineteen Learned to sleep wherever orders said Six houses that the kids called home for a minute Boxes labeled with the life you led The uniform deployed But the whole house served Twenty years of service — stand down, friend The watch is over, someone else's now You gave the best years to a promise And kept it like an oath, not like a job Twenty years of service — at ease now There were birthdays sung through static on a screen Anniversaries marked an ocean wide A spouse who learned to fix the furnace solo And kept the porch light burning every night The medals tell a piece of it The family knows the rest Twenty years of service — stand down, friend The watch is over, someone else's now You gave the best years to a promise And kept it like an oath, not like a job Twenty years of service — at ease now Some kid is lacing up this morning At the same gate where you began They'll never know your name, but they inherit The standard that you carried — hand to hand Twenty years of service — stand down, friend The watch is over, someone else's now You gave the best years to a promise And kept it like an oath, not like a job Twenty years of service — at ease now Hang the colors, hold the line one breath — Dismissed, old friend. You've earned the rest.