Four Angels

Four Angels 7:00
I was a soldier, just 19.
I can’t erase what I have seen.
Years of guilt, it haunts me still
What we did on Blanket Hill.
Jeffrey, Alison, Sandra, Bill
Among the college crowd they milled
After noon the 4th of May
Those four would not return that day.
Their faces all looked just like me
Young and angry, scared and free
Call it fate or what you will
Confusion reigned on Blanket Hill.

Flowers are better than bullets
Someone heard her say
Flowers are better than bullets
They won’t steal your life away
Some armed with rocks and angry words
Came to protest. War’s absurd.
Some off to class, just passing by
Under beautiful, spacious skies.
I saw four angels fly that day
Amid the tear gas, and the fray.
Soldiers, rifles, anarchy
13 seconds to eternity.
Chorus
The flash gunfire
Four lives expire
The photos freeze
A young girl’s scream
200 years between the two
Boston’s State House - Kent State U.
Massacre or defensive strike
Labels won’t bring back their lives.
I was a soldier, just 19.
I can’t erase what I have seen.
Years of guilt, it haunts me still
What we did up there on Blanket Hill.
Chorus x2
Jeffrey, Alison, Sandra, Bill
Became four angels on that hill.