The calmness of the night was broken by the sound of gunfire,
In the chaos that followed many were led to their own funeral pyre.
The night trembled the earth shook, the screams of pain
The laughter of death would be recorded in no book.
Death strangled them and mortal men screamed
The heavens were asleep or so it seemed.
Eyes seeking a smiling face and a place to rest
Found despair as flames danced like the devil’s crest.
He clutched the cross that now burned into his skin
He hoped his fervent prayer would be heard above the din.
He knew daylight was still a few hours away
As he imagined the golden wheat in his farm sway.
They told him his duty was to remove the evil that resided here
No man was to be frightened as good would withstand all fear.
And off he went to conquer all evil as he scouted the horizon
Each move he made was to prove that he was a true patriotic son.
Today his bullet found its mark as evil he thought fell before him
But the evil that fell carried a loaf of bread and a jug of water filled to the brim.
He stood rooted as the man cried out “Oh why did you do this to me
I was only carrying food to my starving family”.
They didn’t say how you deal with pain when its hurts the most
How you fight your scarred conscious and make-believe ghosts.
On you go as a war machine should, victory painted as a false image
Maybe this is what they called at base camp “Collateral Damage”
He walked on hearing nothing beyond his thumping heart
He walked around in circles ending where he should start
His solitary companion his state-of-the-art gun
As sadly he realized this war was never going to be won.
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