Not in the First Person

Do not mention his name. He would want it that way.

What I am about to write,
describes a situation,
I am not qualified to write about.
Not because I am literally incapable,
but because I have no personal experience
other than from an observational perspective.
However, my emotional reaction
and my empathy for the situation
somehow beckons me to do so.
My sacrifice is nonexistent,
my input will have little results,
but somehow there is something inside me
that urges me to tell the story.

The story is based on the life of just one man.
He was a man of simple purpose,
not of simple means,
to do what was right,
and a man who would realize,
only in death, 
that his simple purpose
was reserved for only the most powerful of men.

He was raised in America,
in a good family
to do what what was right for his country.
After 911 he made it his mission
to hunt down the men that were responsible.
At first he served in Iraq.
There he questioned,
only to himself,
the tactics his government took.
He obeyed the orders.

While there he observed
the needless theatrics
played out by the upper brass
to rescue Jessica Lynch.
He feared, he too would be used to glorify war.
As such he drafted up papers
that would not allow his death to be used
as a glorification of war.

While in Afghanistan
he was killed by friendly fire.
Against his last will,
the upper brass right up to the generals,
Donald Rumsfeld 
and George Bush
ignored his request.

This is the story of just one man,
who wanted to do the right thing,
for his country.
Not because he wanted to be an American hero,
not for prestige and wealth,
not to take power over other nations.
He did it because his country asked him.

Who is this man?
The American Soldier!

Author's Note

This was not originally written as a poem, but I've discovered in this form it is easier to read and understand.

Reviews

[John Jackson (El Juero)]

Excellent writing. I am against all of this. Jingoism does not play well under false pretense. Where the f**k is Bin Laden anyway? Someone knows...perhaps in the military-industrial complex. Lives, or jobs? Whatever it takes to get elected.
Sorry for the rant. Your work is exceptional.