This Fire.

A soldier's return.

On this balcony I stand
The shell of a broken man
Though I may be home
I still feel nothing but cold

~-~

In the hot desert sun
I could always trust my gun
Now back here at home
I feel desperate and alone

~-~

With my squad, my buddies therein
We were as brothers, through thick and thin
We went through the same events every day
Until we came home, most of us to empty graves

~-~

I was a man of calm plan
Now my body demands to act
Politicians talk of heroism and sacrifice
For they are men who pay no price

~-~

On this balcony I stand
The shell of a broken man
Though I may be home and free
This fire in me shall burn eternally

Author's Note

Didn't pack my flashdrive with Flames and Ashes on it today, as I went to work. Decided to try and write something else to pass the time.

Reviews

[Victoria PoetryBunny]

wow... heart touching, sad... truth... feeling, this was so good, i loved how you used these lines in the beginning and the end repeating them:
"On this balcony I stand
The shell of a broken man"
...such emotion in this piece, great rhyme and flow like its effortless and just let the feelings speak... this is really good i enjoyed this a lot.

Yes, I agree with Emma. A loved one of mine was a WW2 vet. The war marked him; he never spoke of the war, but he carried it all the same.

[.n.]

This makes me sad...only because I think you really captured some truth here. Your last two stanza are very powerful. Nice piece.