j.man Posted August 18, 2008 Share Posted August 18, 2008 It's pretty long, there's a back story to it but I'm hoping you can get the gist of it by reading it. I visited your mother the other day And on the mantle your picture lay Hair trimmed tight, smiling bright Standing proudly in your uniform Just an image to keep her warm I looked at her as she looked at me We both bear the difficulty In eachother's eyes we only see you We relive the suffering we've both gone through What I once would have given to have been there To have had that one final moment to share To have put my hand in your hair To have witnessed your fading stare To have grasped your quivering hand To have given you comfort as you lie in the sand To have assured you that we would soon be home Never to hint you would soon die alone You were my hero, you gave me strength Though you'd seen what I'd seen, your smile never lost length You were my friend, my brother with a gun Though you'd done what I'd done, your eyes shone like the sun You never hated, you never lost temper When all I could feel was paramount anger It was something I was so glad and disparaged to see A level of perfection I could only aspire to be Not seeing the mask, the unwillingness for the task I heard the news that your life was fading Words going up and down, my hopes barely wading With the end of your span, you were but a man You were supposed to save me, how could you perish? Your common thoughts and experiences I was supposed to cherish Instead you left me, alone with my life Alone to live with my internal strife Against the demons, my confidence and will you were supposed to aid Overwhelmed and beaten, with your death did they fade Just another soldier dead, a statistic, a number Among the countless many to violently enter the slumber My eyes could do nothing but stare wide that night You were supposed to be the good to return from that land Damned, you fell, to be absorbed by the blood, the cries, the sand The words your mother would say that following day will never stray To hear that what I'd seen in you was but a fraction of what you saw in me That to you, I was everything a hero could be To feel the pain, the sorrow, the suffering To endure, adapt, and maintain my being While all you could do was smile, your mask glued strong Never to reveal to anybody that anything was wrong I aspired to someday accept their faces While you relied on God's saving graces To know the confidence, the man I could be How disappointed you'd be if you'd have seen me A family maimed, a friendship mutually used, a love badly damaged My life drowned in immense self-pity All because I was unwilling to dig up your grave And reclaim the confidence and faith that I gave There was so much we had hoped to do I would be your best man, as you married the woman you loved so true To see eachother happy, friends growing older Bound by more than just the bowels of humanity and a patch on our shoulders I wish I could have introduced you to her A friend to share my interests and those I love with But it cannot be, I can't allow you to dwell within me Once a hero, then a crutch, now simply a memory Your life has long since ended, mine can no longer be suspended The sands have taken you, but they will never have me I have the opportunity to build a life happily To pursue my prosperity, the objectives and people I love dearly Where I once stumbled blindly, my confidence guides me clearly You're the final spec of sand I brush from my heart As we both travel onward, worlds apart Soldier, you're a friend no longer You've served your purpose and I have grown stronger With my final salute, I bid you farewell No longer in my heart may you dwell Tucked deep in my memories is where you will stay Never again to influence my day The link has been severed, the desert is but a landscape Through your life, death, and memory, you have aided my escape We've both found peace. Sleep tight. Link to comment
SapphireNoir10 Posted August 18, 2008 Share Posted August 18, 2008 Thats one of the most beautiful poems i've ever read. Link to comment
tina-rocks Posted August 18, 2008 Share Posted August 18, 2008 Heck I was sure I would not cry today. Link to comment
Aviatormy Posted August 18, 2008 Share Posted August 18, 2008 WOW! From a fellow soldier..... Great poem. Couldnt have been any sadder while having so much happiness in the context. I am very impressed. Great job! May he R.I.P.! Andrew Link to comment
tiredofvampires Posted August 20, 2008 Share Posted August 20, 2008 I find this absolutely heartbreaking -- and deeply disturbing. It's a powerful and evocative piece, filled with tragedy. But it seems there is an even worse tragedy that is not apparent in the poem directly. That's where your backstory is, I imagine. I feel myself wondering what happened here...what happened between the brotherly love and the end of that, which is evident at the end. This is not just a poem about the "ultimate sacrifice" -- this is about someone who has banished another from their heart, and I find that an even greater tragedy somehow. Link to comment
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