I closed my eyes and I am there,

The smells of horror are what I see.

A good friend gone in a fiery flare,

The one left standing there, the one is me.

They look at me smiling as family goes,

That is what happens, when no one knows.

I close my eyes and see the flashing pain,

Of crimson covered courage going home,

“Lord”, I can not do this all over again,

Trying to crawl through the battle’s tome.

I open my eyes to family standing in rows,

That is what happens, when no one knows.

How can I tell them what I have done?

How can I explain death by me?

In a war that someone else has begun,

In a great war across the vast open sea.

They love me, my family in highs and lows,

That is what happens, when no one knows.

In my silence I find escape and relief,

From the searing reality of six decades past.

The silence masks all my sharp edged grief,

As I agonize how long the memories will last.

They love me and I them even with these woes,

That is what happens, when no one knows.

My hands, they tremble in this life of age,

And my feet they plod with uncertain strides.

My eyes begin to read life’s last written page,

And hope that memories will finally subside.

A family’s embrace shows love still grows,

That is what happens, when no one knows.

The mist of today gathers tightly around,

The young faces of warriors, friends beckon me to come.

I rise up from these earthly bounds,

To join the long line marching to the cadence drum.

I look back to my family loved by me,

They not knowing, from pain I am finally set free.

As they pass my sightless eyes in a loving single row,

My hope is the story will be told, so they may finally know.

Copyright November 2009