Soldier's Heart

Straight spine, squared shoulders, 

distinguished, intimidating.

Over the dark fields,

he could see what the world really looked like

& curse over what’s to come.

Discover if all the stories are true.

It may be what saves us in the end.

In chaotic times like these,

wars are not cheap.

Presence will help our cause.

Recruit anyone who can destroy.

Put dents in armor, leave it in ruins. 

Obey, so easily done.

& what a storm it’ll be.

We could say goodbye first,

before he enters a hell of his own making,

Grief shadows their faces,

mourning as we are.

Preparing to get back a corpse.

To honor so many dead &

leaving nothing of them behind.

Sparking quiet fury.

It simmers in him.

A woman kisses his closed eyelids,

Giving him a halo.

“You cannot do this alone,”

A soldier with orders to answer to,

Holding onto hope.

Make room to change things, remake things.

With dying pride, he must

look into the face of wars horrors,

using it as fuel.