DEAD MEN FIGHTING WARS

I've lived through a war on the wrong side of the gun and this is me putting myself in the shoes of a soldier - a confused one it seems -

DEAD MEN FIGHTING WARS

I’ve left home only three weeks ago,
Together with my two best friends,
Little did we know,
That I’d be the only one left,
On this blood soaked
Corpse ridden theater of war,
Where bullets take the centre stage,
Where Satan knocks on the door,
To take the bodies of the fallen,
Their sins cannot be ignored.

Whose war is this?
What am I fighting for?
I’ve done away with my old self,
Stored memories high up on a shelf.
I don’t know if I’ll ever return home,
Or occupy a six feet deep hole.
This is not my place to die!
It’s too early to give my goodbyes.
Fighting a war someone else started,
I refuse to join the dearly departed.

Five thousand and counting,
That’s what the death toll reads,
Human lives sowed like death’s seeds.
I will not become just another number,
This world is built on endless wars,
But for what reason, no one knows.
With that said,
I leave this battle on my own terms,
Swallow the gun and scatter my head,
Either way, I would have been dead.

Author's Note

Runner up in the following contest:
http://www.writerscafe.org/contests/Grit/11824/

Reviews

[Crowley]

Damn...this feels so real to me. Nice glimpse into the heart and mind of someone forced into a tough situation. Trying to grasp for straws at the reason for a war when yuou are in the trenchs has to be maddening. Watching those die around you for the reasons that can never be settled on a battlefield to begin with. Strong write here my friend. Very nice.

[Brett Forsythe]

I agree with Crowley this feels real, you painted a very good picture. My favourite part was the middle paragraph especially the end of it. Keep it up.

[Marie Harrison]

Brilliant write. I'm so glad you made it out alive too. So sorry you had to leave your homeland that you loved. Valient write.

[Dave M. Pitman]

As already stated, this is a very powerful poem. The line "human lives wosed like death's seed" is probably my favorite, because it conjures up such an image in my mind. Great job!

[Cherrie Palmer]

very powerful piece, in this life there are some things worth dying/killing for; But the cost is heart-breaking and much to often overwhelming. You have done a great job capturing the dispair of war

[Coyote Poetry]

All my friend are dead. My job was driving a gas tanker. In a war zone. Not a good vehicle to be in. I filled the tanks and helicopters. A very important job to insure victory. My best friend are gone. I try to understand. I follow my father's foot steps and I became like him. Missing friends loss in wars I can't figure why we were fighting for. Your story is strong. The lesson I learn is to celebrate life and be with the family. Life can be short. A powerful poem. Thank you.
Coyote

[mattaphix]

powerful depiction of a world few of us see, it lives and breaths the murderous
minds of our generation, yet with an unquenchable soul that will foever rise above the tyranny and carry it wihin for as long as time allows.

[Tina Kline]

Unless one's country is being invaded I don't see a need for war. Let those who start them go fight them and see how long they last. You're poem describes the horror that war is and it last long after the solider comes home. Wars have been around since humans have, so its seems they will never be a time when there isn't a war someone where on this planet. You did a great job in writing this.

[Abdul Aziz]

I do not know what I have to say in addition to what Awdures and Linda Marie Van Tassell have stated.
Wars have been around since the beginning of humanity, and they continue to be, with no end in sight.
You have captured the trauma of a soldier excellently in this poem. I don't think I have anything to nipick on. Great job.