A Broken Soldier

The band of brothers we were,

Fought in the trenches of the dead man's land,

Breathed in the thick miasma of war,

Suffered the loss of our brothers,

I became a hardened man with a heart of stone,

I'd shed not a tear for those who had fallen,

And care not for those near to me,

Through the fire and smoke I fought,

A man changed by battle.

A fateful night we heard the cries,

It was like the souls of the dead had arisen,

Arisen to bring us down with them,

The Gods were angry as it rained with fire and explosions,

Flashes and gas engulfed us,

Wrapping its wretched hands around our necks,

Suffocating in darkness,

Would I become one of those souls?

Such thoughts harboured within me,

Shattering my stony heart.

I awoke days later in the hands of a young maiden,

A nurse no less had carried me from the battle,

My the strength she must have possessed,

Was it adrenaline or the goddess reborn to save my soul,

I was not alone but surrounded by my brothers,

Each suffering the same fate as I,

'Who, who saved me?' I asked,

She smiled at me intertwining her fingers in mine,

'None other than me brave soldier,

You have done your country proud as man to protect'

She looked at me as if I were a hero,

Yet what as I really?

A murderer of lives, scoundrel taking war as a free pass,

'My life is in debt to you young madam,

With hair golden and eyes blue as sapphires'

She had saved me from death,

Saved me from becoming one of those soul I so previously envied,

'If I may be so bold and right now I shall,

If we survive this war at hand would a dinner pay back my debt?'

She smiled and washed off my wounds and with that she replied,

'I think you'll have to do more than that Sir' 

A wink did follow and a smile so sweet. 

Beneath the stars we dined her eyes glowing with joy,

Wine and dancing a life I had not lived before,

As a boy of young such luxuries were not sought,

For money was scarce as were happiness,

We danced amongst the flowers,

The meadow joined us in a tempo of love,

Fingers intertwined and two hearts becoming one,

Who knew this heart was capable of love,

Compassion...

A night we shared passion overboard,

Bodies locked in formation and fire running cold,

The motions so fluid and spice overwhelming,

Spirits running wild,

Lust taking control,

Pulsations of our hearts struggling in it's rhythm,

A night we shared....

A bed we shared....

A bed she led upon,

The cold essence of death lingered upon her,

The sickly tar of cancer had corrupted her innocent body,

Our fingers intertwined once more...

As the light began to leave her eyes...

Yet her smile still so sweet and innocence had not abandoned her,

She beckoned me closer for her voice was frail,

'Solider do not fret for my spirit will be set free,

Let your tears be of joy that the suffering will end,

You remember the war as I do too,

Let my soul carry on this life is no longer for me'

She spoke no more that night...

No more...

No more...

A bed I sat upon,

Bullet locked and loaded to my head,

Fingers locked in the harmony of love and friendship,

You see my sweet angel I was once a broken man,

A Broken Solider,

If your soul must be set free...

Then so must mine...

For you were the woman to crumble my petrified heart,

Once alone in this world it shall surely rectify it's elder existence, 

These tears...

These tears sweet angel are of joy as you asked...

Reviews

[MandaBear]

You know this reminds me of Pearl Harbor. Granted I think your poem is so much better than Ben Affleck's acting in that movie. (Just saying) This reminds me of this movie because of the other soldier that did fight in that war that most of them didn't get back home to see his girl or their lives at all. Great poem as always!

[TL Boehm]

while the poem is tragic and beautiful and of course fiction - it does represent the hard truth of war. Had the soldier truly been healed and whole - the love they shared would have galvanized him to continue living. Suicide is not the option of a whole person. It is as though her love was simply moratorium on the inevitable. That is the saddest part of the story for me.

[Robbie~xoxo~]

VERY IMPRESSIVE! I must say, I was enthralled to read such an intense love story from you! Huge smile here... :D
I love how this story unfolds, the journey was one of romance, despair, and loyalty during a time of war...to find love and follow his angel to the death... WOW!!
You truly have a gift of depicting stories... a well written poetic piece, my sweet friend! XX

Excellent write, well executed. :)

[icelandicblue]

This is very well written and I found myself compelled by the story. The piece is fraught with changing emotions and the ending perfectly fit with the ravages of war. I think you may have meant "was" in this line:
Yet what as I really?

[kublakhan27]

A riveting story that tells it like it is...there has always been a tendency to romanticize war at times, sometimes by Hollywood, sometimes by governments, and so on...rarely is the mental trauma of a soldier addressed though, especially those who make it through the war and must spend the rest of their lives with a tortured conscience...I was totally entranced by this piece, well done.

[ANTO]

Very much in the spirit of Dulce et decorum est (Pro patria mori) here John-Paul. The antitheses of glamorising war and war-like glory. When I read this section

A nurse no less had carried me from the battle,
My the strength she must have possessed,
Was it adrenaline or the goddess reborn to save my soul,
I was not alone but surrounded by my brothers,
Each suffering the same fate as I,
'Who, who saved me?' I asked

I suspected the supernatural but it didn't ruin it for me - it staged things for the ending which I thought was poignant and correct but sad.

More like this would be welcome

[Forgotten]

Thank you for your wonderful review, you have uttered me speechless. I'm really happy you enjoyed this one

[I Am Svetlana]

I really loved the ending and closing of this piece :) it tells a wonderful and heartbreaking story of a soldier who is soon pushed to his limits. I feel the woman left him because she just wanted an easy way out, though she didn't seem to understand how much she truly meant to him...forcing him to the point of the thought and possible action of suicide. He deserved a better woman and the woman didn't want to deal with his emotions of the war. I respect our soldiers, but pity how most come back so mentally damaged to the point of no one being able to save them again. They are so far gone.

[Forgotten]

Thank you I agree, a lot of our soldiers come back so scarred mentally by the results of war that they are left very broken people, but always very grateful people too. I'm happy you enjoyed this one

[Coyote Poetry]

A very well written story in the poem. I like the way you described the burden of war and the battle to understand. I like the addition of the woman. Allowing some kindness and warmth in the turmoil of war. It was a sad ending to a excellent poem.
Coyote

[Forgotten]

Thank you for your review, I'm always a fan of sad ending. Too many happy endings to books

[Jamie Cook]

I think if I could I would make a video of my expressions oh how I looked reading this out loud to myself XD That would have been...soooo interesting XD OHMYGAWD SO MUCH SHTUFF HAPPENED! It was all like damn war awe that sucks, awe people dying! awe D: ! and the DOOSH! oh s**t CHEMCIAL WARFARE! O_O What will happen next?!?! And then he was saved.. and OOOOOOOH LOVE INTEREST!!! LADY ON THE SPOT!!!! AAWWWWWE!!!!!!! WINKINESS!!!!! And then ohmygawd they held hands! OHMYGAWD!...they shared a bed! and then cancer!!!! O_O WHAT?!??! NUUUUUUUU >< THE FEELS ARE REAL!!!! ERMERGERD T^T WHY DUDE!?!?!? WHY!? and what nonononono put the gun down...ohmygawd...ohmygawdohmygawdohmygawd!!!! ....oh......wooooooooooooooooooooow! That was so goood!!! Dude! I felt like a kid in a candy shop! Oof lordy! awesome job!! :D

[Forgotten]

Haha thanks, I wrote about half of this a month ago and just never could find the right way to end it, but I though this was a good way to end it. I'm glad you enjoyed it =D

[Jamie Cook]

I did indeed. :D