Old Men's Dreams

What is the stuff of old men's dreams?
Those in their fading years
Who burrow in their bed each night
With the sum of all their fears.

My grandfather's father was a soldier
As was his son's son.
Both fought wars and shed men's blood
With battles lost and won.

But when they lay upon their pillows
What machines grind through their dreams?
And when they cry out in their sleep at night
What horrors fuel their screams?

Can anybody tell me what old men dream
When their last barriers burn away?
And can speak of what they see
On the midnight side of day?

From Shiloh through Saint-Mihiel
From Normandy to Khe Sahn
Can anybody tell me what old men dream
And where their sleeping minds have gone?

I stand apart and listen
Wondering at these gallant few
And may only guess at old men's dreams
Upon whom honor falls like dew.