We Were Soldiers Once

by Gypsymooncat

I'm an Aussie Digger, who was also called "True Blue".
I went to war afraid, between the gatepost, me and you.
Just the same I wore my khaki proudly, every day;
the uniform and Flag were where I tucked my fears away.

Nowadays I've earned the term a "Veteran" of War.
"Fugitive" sounds better, 'cause I did things I abhor.
None of us were killers, though they trained us up to be,
but training ill-prepared us for the battles we would see.

The things I wish I could forget affect my sleep at night
(watching mates succumb to death was not a pretty sight).
I'm a hero am I? Thanks, but gee, I disagree!
I cried till snot ran out my nose, 'tween you, that post and me.

I'm telling you the way I saw it, nothing more or less,
with no intent to shoot you down or sully your bequests
of gratitude or admiration - those are yours to give,
but hard to take when it's myself who's hardest to forgive.

So let us honour those who lost their lives instead of me,
and pray that all we did has helped to keep our countries free.
Please try to understand that I can't get my head around
the fact that better men than me lie cold beneath the ground.

The only thing that comforts me, is that I did my best
in honouring the call to arms at Uncle Sam's request.
Even though each battle took us far away from truth,
we all were soldiers once, and young, but war destroyed our youth.

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War Poetry Contest contest entry

Recognized

Firstly, I want to acknowledge the movie "We Were Soldiers", which of course, inspired the heading of this poem and the last line.

Secondly, I have written this in "Aussie" terms, or at least, from the perspective of an Australian Soldier. There is one term that is often used in Aussie-speak, ie:

"Between you, me and the gatepost" - which means to keep it between you, me and the gatepost. For the poem though, I had to flip it around a bit for the sake of rhyme, ie, "between the gatepost, me and you" and then " 'tween you, that post and me" for the sake of syllable count as well as rhyme.

Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed!

Picture courtesy of Darkroom - Baltimore Sun, Google Images

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War destroys youth

A chapter in the book RESIDUE OF WAR

We Were Soldiers Once

by Gypsymooncat

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