The Militant Soldier Boy
Lies dying. In shame,
His body lies in disgrace,
Because he could no longer face
The Innocents.
The Innocents, the ones who died
At his hand in that foreign land.
He saw them in his dreams.
He saw them when he was awake,
Or walking about his hometown,
His place of safety, his refuge.
They stood beside him
At the altar
Of his church,
And when he was at work,
Until he could no longer face
The Innocents.
And so, with his Soldier Boy's
Tattered Honor gathered about him,
His heart gave a sigh.
He decided he must die,
Shamed and alone,
Like the Innocents.
Dedicated to all soldiers who must live with the horror of death.
Scarlett Treat, March 26,2007