He was nineteen

dying in a field

in a foreign land.

That was all he knew.

He wasn't feeling brave

but only afraid

as he felt the life

slipping out of him.



He didn't know who was right

or who was wrong

as they argued about it

in the grocery stores

in the newspapers

at the filling stations

and he lay dying

in this field of green.



He didn't feel as if it were an honor to die

he didn't feel dignified

or proud,

just scared,

a boy longing for home.



He didn't know anything now

just the pain;

he wasn't thinking about bleeding-heart liberals

or staunch conservatives

only about all the things he wouldn't see

he wouldn't do in his life

now that it would all be over so soon

and the fear of the unknown

of what was to come.



He didn't know much about politics

about 'stand firm'?

or 'the right plan'?

he didn't know

which candidate

was better for the country

(now he would never get the chance to vote).



He only knew

he was nineteen

and he was going to die

before he had a chance

to live

and he wasn't really sure

why.


----------------------------------------------------------


Wounds of War: Poets for Peace

Diana L. May & Mitchell Waldman, Editors

Wounds of War: Poets for Peace brings together, in poems, stories and essays, the voices of those personally affected by war. These are voices of parents, of children, of friends, of soldiers and others who have a large stake in the wars, present and past, that our country has participated in. We hear the patriotic voices, the voices of dissent and rage, the voices of sorrow, pain, fear and tears, the voices of pride and love. All these voices are gathered together here to hopefully make the experience of war something more than another headline in the morning's paper. An experience to be felt by us through their words, their hearts, and souls.



ISBN: 1-4241-1177-3, 140 pages, 5.5 x 8.5

CHECK IT OUT AT:

http://mitchwaldman.homestead.com/WoundsofWar.html

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