In the name of God
In defense of motherland,
For the cause of liberty
The purity of race
Or all of the above
I’ve shed so much blood
In history of mankind and
Died millions of times.
I know thousands of ways to kill
And one way to die.
I don’t ever make decisions
Thinking is not so wise
As everyone knows in the army
Questioning is not advised.
I have evolved of course
Wars are humane, much cleaner now
I hardly ever see death and destruction
With my own eyes.
Pushing a button from above
Destruction of enemy below
Perish thousands of lives
Reduce towns to rubbles
In a blink of an eye
It’s a game, I have been told.
And the losers are sometimes
Comrades blown into pieces,
Parts of myself fallen on the ground.
However,
If I come back home alive
I am told to reset my mind
Carry on as usual
Forget all I had done
Until the next war comes along.
Yet, if I fail to live a normal life
Haunted with nightmares
If I act erratic, emotionally disturbed,
Or have an itch to kill everyone,
Then my condition is called PTSD
Post-traumatic Stress Disorder
“Not to worry”, doctors say
“These are common syndromes
Among veterans of foreign wars,
More popular than
Syphilis and gonorrhea combined.
The good news is
Therapy and medications
Are available now.”
As a hero I always am
On the right side of history
The lower corner of the page
In the margin, remembered as unknown.
As a patriot and a warrior
I execute orders
Because I am a soldier
My head is precious
Only when it’s lost.
