tin soldier

you bark real well
for a scruffy old mutt
i'm not so sure
about your bite
since it seems
you've left your teeth
at home again

you wear that tattered
uniform like you've
actually been to war
but you and i both know
you've hardly strayed
beyond your own back door

so what's the deal
and what's the fuss ?
you may fool yourself
but you don't fool us

you yarp all day and
put up quite a fright
but once the thunder rolls
and lightning's struck
you're under your bed
faster than the speed of light
shivering and whimpering
throughout the night

you march and strut
about all puffed up
trying so hard to impress
what is it that you
hope to prove ?
and to whom is
more the point

that great long nosey
snout of yours
seems almost always
out of joint
it's no surprise
your prying beak
takes it's share of lumps
as it's always deep
in someone else's
business or affairs

just in case you
haven't noticed
that parade square
where you preen and
pose and prance about
has been deserted
for some time now

that rusty saber
you wield and rattle
boasts of many an
imagined battle
my genuine concern
is that when i turn away
you might just stab
me in the back

so what's the deal
and what's the fuss ?
you may fool yourself
but you don't fool us