Knuckles red, knuckles bleeding..

We learn. Sometime we learn the wrong things.

Knuckle red, knuckles bleeding... His knuckles red, his knuckles bleeding. My father fought and fought, wars that could not be won. He told me in his drunkenness state. What have I done? He told me. Son. I killed and I killed. I melted down three machine guns barrels. I saw body on body of the dead. Thousand we killed and I didn't want to see the face of the enemy. I remember my friend left behind. They are still buried somewhere in the Korean dirt. He told me. Son, war is s**t, war is hell. I pray the old soldier can find peace in death. In life, my father fought old wars everyday and every night. My father never found peace. The damn wars tattoos and spoiled his soul. Killed his hope and killed his vision. And the wars are never-ending for men with. Knuckle red, knuckles bleeding. Coyote

Author's Note

Thank you for reading.

Reviews

[Dave Brown]

I don't see how anyone can go through the violence of war without being adversely affected.
I read a history thing that showed even the earliest traces of mankind indicated a tendency toward mortal conflict
we obviously have a few missing genes
Hope things go well in this latest attempt at a year

[Coyote Poetry]

Hello Dave. No-one wins in war. Thank you for reading and the comment my friend.

[Light and ashes]

A heartbreaking and poignant write....enjoyed reading.

[Coyote Poetry]

Thank you my friend. Took my father almost sixty years to forget the wars.

[Kim S.]

This is so sad, I dislike violence, but wars happen.

[Coyote Poetry]

Dear Beckies, war will happen as long as the silence people who prefer peace to war. Stay silence. How many of peace are left? Martin Luther King Jr. sought peace. Men of peace are silenced by hate and profit. Thank you for reading and the comment.

[Kim S.]

i live in fear of war, i am so scared it will happen again because things aren't getting any better.

[John the Baptist]

Some experiences leave inner scars which do not fade away. This is the condition called PTSD, only relatively recently named, but surely experienced by people for as long as there has been war. The speaker describes his father's anguish, which seems unabated even under the effects of alcohol. The North Korean and Chinese human wave assaults could only be repulsed with massive automatic weapons fire, but when one looks out afterward at the destruction he has wrought, something within him is forever changed. It would be nice to hear that he eventually found peace, but apparently that never occurred.

[Coyote Poetry]

He did find peace at the end. A strong woman saved him. Took 55 years to find quiet in the Virginia mountains. Thank you, my friend, for reading and the comment.

[M. J. Smith]

"War! Huh! Good God, y'all! What is it good for? Absolutely nothin'..."
Wars of the spirit leave similar scars. We battle for what we believe. But when everyday is a battle, war becomes all we know. Truth and innocence become the first casualties. Honor falls next as we try merely to survive. Too often, humanity finds its own grave. Everyday the demons wait, a hoard hungry for spirits. Some days, prayer just feels like empty words.
Dark words about honest feelings. Thank you for your courage and candor.

[Coyote Poetry]

Thank you, M. J. Smith. I remember my poor father. Drinking and talking to dead people. I would sit with him. After he drank enough. I helped him walk to his bed.

[M. J. Smith]

I never knew my father. But the drinking demon took him when I was a teenager. I will pray tonight for Al those still hounded by their demons. May the Blessed Virgin protect them in the cold and the dark...
You are most welcome to the review. We need those willing and able to speak truth.

[Writergurl]

so sad, but when in war you see a lot of grusome things and people.
such an emotional read

[Coyote Poetry]

No winners in war dear poet. I pray one day. War can become myth and tale. Thank you for reading and the comment.