As I carefully opened the dirty, broken book br Laid aside by one who needless took br It's place on the shelf br And put in another pelf br br The book's subject, old beyond my years br Centuries having passed in darkest fears br Until by chance I discovered the treasure within br Words written with ink and pen. br br The thoughts of man who wondered what would be br As the balance of war seemed to deny freedom to such as he br Yet his words spoke loud and clear br Victory we must have, have no fear. br br The words penned there so long ago br When in despair the heart must go br Where the brain can not be trusted with thoughts so strong br To call forth the memory of Albion. br br So it was that Airman Oeker wrote his poems br In the book, Catherine, about the Spanish can of worms br and filed the margin and every blank page br With thoughts of freedom coming of age. br br And then the war was ended br And he and others were free, prison suspended br To return to the outer world where freedom had been denied br And cast out his book, and the contents inside. br br Until I found it lying there br Its cover dirty, torn and in disrepair br A testament to the will of man br To say, over and over, Yes, I Can. br br On finding 'Catherine of Aragon' in a heap of dirty books. Thomas L. Oelker wrote poems and drew cartoons of the planes and the crews that took part in the bombing of Germany near the end of the Second World War. His plane (B26) was shot down and he was captured and placed in prison until the end of the war. While he is dead and burried, his poems live on. br br sbr br Sidi J.