sacrifice

The soldier slides his sword into its sheath

Having completed the missions given to him

Grateful to be one of the few men to leave

After hanging his life on war's proverbial limb

...

He has done his duty...he has given his all

Then to country, home and hearth he returns

But he can not read the writing on the wall

That the heat of battle eternally burns

...

He can put his trust in no one

For the enemy still eats at his soul

Caught in a hell with nowhere to run

Believing nothing will make him whole

This sacrificed soldier will always bleed

Whipped and tortured by the thorns of war

Rejected and scorned by those he freed

Stoned for his deeds on a foreign shore

...

The blood on his hands refuses to dry

A constant reminder of where he has been

His will to survive fights with his wish to die

In this carnal world of throw-away men

...

He has seen too much....killed too many

Propelling his god just beyond his reach

Searching for life's true meaning, if any

Soul swaying, fore'er standing in the breach

...

Time proves only the war still remains

Its hands stirring the grains of orange dust

An endless tune resounding in horrific strains

Its death knell extolling the demise of the just

...

A prisoner of war is this sacrificed man

Dwelling in a camp of suffering and pain

His soul at the mercy of the great I Am

Caught in a world where nightmares reign

...

Will he ever find peace here on this earth

Before death's fingers encircle his throat

Or will peace remain just beyond his girth

Abandoning him eternally to a land remote

...

Will no one heed the gutteral cries

Of this bleeding soldier swaying in the wind

Seeing his own soul burning in demonic eyes

Fighting eternal battles which refuse to end

...

No greater love has any man

Than to offer his life for a friend

Some do not fully understand

The sacrifice made in the end