The Sacrifice

There was a man who loved life like a man loves his wife
And he showed his love for the world but paid a heavy price
He sacrificed the most important thing, wait, I'm going too far
Let's go back to May 9th
On this spring date this man kissed his wife to start his work day this Thursday
Before he left his house, it was his son he heard say
Can I go to work with you pops
pops was like sure
The son grabbed his spring jacket and raced his father to the door
Of the 85 Ford, which was all they could afford at the time
They were watching every nickel and every dime
Money was tight but that's alright because they still had peace
So they jumped into the pick up truck and started heading east
To the river where pops was employed by the city's government
There was a draw bridge over the river, and he was running it
Lifting it when ships came into town
And when the trains where on their way he would let it back down
It wasn't action packed but the fact is that thats his occupation
Took hardly no skill and just an ounce of concentration
He taught his only child the ropes, lifting it up and down
And they were there for about 4 hours until their stomachs started growling
As time passed it got hot
They decided to eat up under the bridge as soon as they could find a shady spot
Now pops was answering questions about trains and boats
What powers made trains role what really kept boats afloat
Told him stories, the more he told, the more his son got more excited
Focusing on every word, his attention undivided
But then, in the pop's ear, hears a distant train sound
Realizing that the bridge was up and it should be down
For all to go smoothly see
He had to put the bridge down but had to act fast like and action packed movie
On the way to the controls he yelled out to his son
Stay right there, I'll be back and we'll go on with our fun
He makes it in the knick of time, hes in the clear
About to pull the switch but hears his son scream, his voice is full of fear
Looks to see his son caught in the gears
The 10 year old was stuck and if his father dropped the bridge won't see 11 years
No time to help him, as minutes turn to seconds
Will he let his son get torn or let the folks die up in the wrecking
His one and only son, but then he started to see
All the people on the train, some of them were families
There were mothers and fathers, sisters and brothers
Aunts, uncles, cousins, plus the host of others
They're all unaware at the problem at hand
Not even close to acknowledging the son or the man
Hands trembling, sweat dropped as his whole body shook
Closed his eyes, but only after taking one last look
The train was almost here, it was moving fast, all the tension was drawn
The bridge dropped, a heart stopped, so other lives could live on
What had he done, he just sacrificed his only son
For a train load of families chilling and having fun
Tears poured at the thought of his young son's life
The long ride home, the painful weight of telling his wife
Of his decision, will she understand his choice
His mind replaying the incident, his son's shrieking voice echoing
He was petrol when his young son cried
At the sake of all these strangers he let his own son die
And as he watched the train pass, he saw fathers and sons laugh
Nerve shook, muscle tense, still choking the shaft
He couldn't let go, his mind was running making up petrol
Hearing his son screaming like an echo
The train is out of visual sight now right now
The minutes turn to hours, the day turned to night now
He has to face his wife with the bad news, confused and heart broken
She could tell by his demeanor, words need not to be spoken
Something's wrong but not the ordinary sad song
The happy face he usually wears won't last long
But those who knew the man, then to him he be the glory
Even though some things were changed this is bases on a true story

sorry bout being so long, this is from last year 2005