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Tue 12 Aug, 2003 06:48 pm
IS GOD STILL IN HIS HEAVEN
There's rain in my boots
Mud on my blanket
A rock is my pillow
God is in his Heaven
A warlord's on his throne
And I'm in the back of a friggin Jeep
The food you eat is what you scrounge
My coffee never came from Starbucks
I got a real good Colt & a six pack to go
An M4 carbine with all the bells & whistles
A special knife, that'll gut you inside out
Oh yeah & a helmet with a bullet hole in the top
Then I also got a wife and kids back home
They live in a nice new town house not far from base
A new Ford 4 x 4 in the garage for those daily trips
Fridge & freezer stacked with food of every kind
Big comfy beds upstairs and a dog who rules the roost
A wad of plastic and a shopping mall just a mile away
It's a year since I saw them & we hugged & kissed goodbye
Stay safe they begged thru tears of love
I smiled & nodded, then promised that I would
Our troop ship, was like a city on the ocean
Sailed at dusk & took us on our fearful mission
It's you or them, do or die, you wont have time to cry.
The party starts & days zap past
Gunships howl & missiles fly
The weeks stack up & bodies too
Guns are hot & so is sweat
No time for nerves unless they're steel
Adrenalin oozes thru your frame & kills your fear
And so it goes, as weeks grow long & turn to months
2 steps forward, then one step back, to quell the fates
So as our Generals play Russian roulette
We stumble & fall, with honor leaking from our wounds
A bandage for some will save the day
A prayer for others will salve their death
Protesters march around the world
Whilst newsmen dog our heels
How's it going I get asked
I shake my head & walk away
My brain has been anethiatised
By other peoples pain
One last push our Leader says
The generals nod, one last push
We're at the gates of hell
The despot cringes in his lair
Shackled minds are rising up
They want their freedom now
They also got a wife and kids too feed
They live in a white stone built house
An ancient Pick Up in the yard for those daily trips
Some cupboards sparcely stacked with tasteless food
Small and creaking beds upstairs
And sadness rules the roost
I.D. papers & crumpled bank notes keep the devil from the door
But now the time has come for peace
Death left unabated knows no bounds
Mercy please, let's stop now
The Warlord's perished
Put up your guns,let's all go home
Is God still in his Heaven ?
that hit's close to home as I am ex Army 82nd ABN good writing
Rae, did i hit an unguarded memory or some raw nerves
Safecracker,, If you can relate to the words I wrote, then I've made someone think. Thanks pal.
OldandKnew, The first four lines of your poem set the tone for the horrors of war and what the foot soldier must endure. The imagery was quite graphic and I have my reasons for feeling the empact.
Safecracker, welcome to A2K. Salute, soldier.
Oak, this poem reminded me of my brother who died after having survived the Bataan Death March. So reluctant to talk about it..but now I have.
Niether, John. (Memories or raw nerves.)
Your poem strikes me as real life. A real person. Real emotions.
Your poem also slammed home the idea of simplicity.
It's good.
All good.
Reminds me of a kid I served with and a bit of myself, when you come back from the lands of hell you just don't feel like the same person.
Safecracker, my dad was in the British Cavalry in WW1 and got badly wounded and also suffered badly from shell shock. He would never talk about his experiences in the trenches. I do know it had a pretty aweful effect on him for the next 40 years or so. I can't remember WW2, not quite old enough, but being bombed daily was very very frightening.
When I wrote that piece for this thread, I based it on a number of things I've read, seen on TV, people I know.
War is sick but at times it's the only way. It was the waste I was trying to highlight
I understand, my wife's grandfather was in WWII, Korea and a few others and I was in afghanistan and a few other missions I am not able to speak about. No soldier talks about his experiance, not outside the family. It's something we want to forget. you did a good job. Thank you for sharing.
Safecracker, Thanks for your words. I've never had to do the things you have, I can only be thankfull that guys like yourself, American & Brits can cut the mustard.
:wink:
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