An Embodiment of History

A mans experience of the war compared with his life in the present

BAM

A brick through the window

A reminder of the past 

On the floor lay the shards of glass

Broken, transparent

A reflection of him. 

His form, like a bag of bones, lay in bed

This derelict house is empty and lonely, just like the thoughts in his head

The booms and bangs of the onslaught 

These are the memories that cloud his thoughts.

He was in the war

Among the crashes and bangs of conflict

The sharp blitz of grenades assaulting his ears

The gore and tarnish of limbs that filled him with tears

The loss of a friend, the cries of the injured

Made him and his comrades question 'How much have we endured?'

He was a part of history.

The sweat, the blood and tears

All part of his homelands victory

And what does he have to show for it?

A medal or two.

The people forget him, people like me and you

The battle he fought, the fight he won

The community, the neighbors, they forget that he was the one.

Coughing and spluttering, he hides in his house

Once victorious and bold

Now as timid as a mouse

The heroes of our country, now rotting like mold

Lonely and forgotten, with no hand to hold.