Unknown Soldier

Part I — On Enemy Grounds

He sits with enemies he put in the ground, a gathering of unmarked graves,
An army of boys pretending to be men, fake courage, the stupid, the brave.

How did we get here, could we have been so cruel
In the service of a deaf republic, was an army of mutes.

Bullets fly, grenades are thrown
In the middle of war, one soldier rebels
He’s barely a boy just turned eighteen
Young soldiers in war are always a theme
I refuse to take a life, says the boy
He looks around at his brothers
Who are starting to see the futility of their actions
How could they kill someone, and look themselves in the eye.

An enemy captured, tied to a post
A spy in their camp
He spits at them
Saliva, blood and bile
Tortured for hours upon end
He can’t recognise himself
Fewer appendages than he had before
His teeth and nail lie on the floor
Inhumane acts define a war.

Yes we won, but victory at what cost
What price is too steep, when we have not enough fingers left,
To count the lives lost.

Its doesn’t matter that we put a nation into the ground
A country, it’s people, their lives are forsaken
When there’s a barrel of oil to be found.

All we need
A reason for the ardour
A dictator
A harbour
A tower
We preach about freedom, liberty and equality
Then shoot a family of four
Who crossed into our border.

End Part I

Originally published at http://litaphn.wordpress.com

Header image from https://jamesclear.com/heroin-habits