A Verse to Veterans

© R. Steven Reynolds
Sunday, July 27, 2003
(Reprinted here with permission.)

You don’t need to tell a veteran war is hell
they have survived the gore and the smell
fighting their fear and depriving death
wondering when they’d take a last breath

Soldiers have a passionate desire for peace
they only want the hostilities to cease
only mad fools fight for power and glory
and only greedy despots fight for territory

Soldiers fight hard so they can survive
The enemy becomes a thing, not alive
to think of them as human causes duress
Emotions the soldier has to suppress

Yes, a soldier knows the value of liberty
as he lives among the horror and brutality
aware he might make the ultimate sacrifice
He is trained and willing to pay the price

A soldier knows something’s are worth it
and you should always give him his credit
to a man-at-arms, freedom is the prize
it is his life, his purpose and his reward

Remember next time you kneel to pray
or when you awake to greet the new day
Soldiers have lived through war’s misery
So you may breathe easy and live free