The local Dairy Queen
On the main street
At the south end of town
Was the best I'd ever seen
The malts they'd make
Would blow your mind
The burgers and fries
The best you'd find
Icon of main street
Witness to many things
Countless first kisses
Exchanges of class rings
Four generations
Of going away parties
John Hodges Sr said goodbye
On a sunny day in July 1942
Smiling and eating ice cream
With his wife and 9 year old son
Before taking off into the wild blue
Another day now 1951
John Hodges Jr this time
Kisses the girls goodbye
Had a burger and ice cream
And the redhead from Rose St.
All three of which
Simply could not be beat
Steve J Hodges in 1970
Ate his ice cream in silence
All alone he kept the tradition
This luck of the Dairy Queen
Stepping onto the bus
His eyes filled with tears
Heart feeling bereft
As he reads a banner in the park
Proclaiming him a baby killer
Before he'd even left
Poor Uncle Steve never came back
In a year closer to now
Another Hodges boy sipped his malt
Dipped his French fries
Taking it all in with his eyes
Surrounded by loved ones
Wishing him luck in Afghanistan
Sat this great grandson
Of great grandpa John
The Dairy Queen sign
Glowing red and white
Cast it's glow upon this scene
It's presence wishing him luck
Whatever that may mean
And when they all hugged him goodbye
His mom trying not to cry
The American flag
Fluttering gently in the breeze
A quiet salute with a bid to come back
For John Hodges the third
Our country's newest Marine
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