I have so many feelings whirling inside of me,
like how the price of freedom certainly isn't free.
I know this and I can say it honestly,
for I have been there and seen what others often choose not to see .
I have felt the sting of pain and known the soul ache of a loss,
I have seen many a soldier who have paid the final cost.
I know the feel of regret and the hammering of helplessness,
for not knowing when I could do more and wondering why when I did less.
I have seen the many wounded who struggle to push back tears,
to show the other soldiers it will be ok to show no fear.
I have known a special few whose lives have been changed forever,
but don't regret a minute but look back on those who stood with them together.
I have seen what this war can do to those who are affected by brutality,
and known how hard it is some times to claim ones sanity.
I know how it was to be so far away from home,
and even at times been where I feel completely small and alone.
I have felt the swelling of anger well up inside,
when I didn't understand how someone could do these things then hide.
I have seen uniforms soaked in blood, tattered, and torn,
worn for such long times that they are now old and worn.
I have been there as soldiers prayed before they rolled out,
and I have heard them cry and sometimes shout.
I have met many soldiers that meant the world to me,
and seen them at their best and worst as they have seen me.
I have said goodbyes to many some seem forever,
and even been there to comfort a fallen one's brother.
I have seen our flag raised high above all,
and watched it handed to a mother who had a soldier fall.
I have seen the daughters and sons of many do great things,
and seen them when they felt what they did really wasn't a big thing.
I have seen the pride that each soldier holds,
even when at times they left words untold.
I have been there as a comfort and more than a friend,
when others felt there would be no end.
I have been next to and seen the few and the brave,
and even watched as they were put in a grave.
I have laid awake many a night and felt the drained feeling of lack of sleep,
and I know that like others these feelings run deep.
I have been to that tortured hell in the sand,
and have come back to this, our promised land.
I will never forget what I have seen and been through,
its was more than enough for me... How about you?----------------------- About my time I spent in Iraq. I was a Military Police officer stationed
North of Balad near Mosul and in northeast Baghdad near Sadr City. |
