It’s a night at the beach.
Not too warm, not too cool.
A gentle breeze flows in
Over the crashing waves.

She looks beautiful.
Red lipstick.
A flawless smile.
And lovely long hair that is being
Ever so gently tossed around
By the August winds.
I take her hand,
She takes my heart.

It’s a night at the beach,
And there’s nowhere else I want to be.

I am a wounded warrior.
I fought and I fought and I fought.
Left behind friends and my family,
To the battle gave the best that I've got.

Loaded out by the light of the sunset,
Marched on in the blanket of dark.
By the raging boom of the mortars,
I saw the horrors of war clear and stark.

We lost twenty odd men in the first fight.
The next week, we lost fifty or more.
So goes the life of a soldier,
Such is the fury of war.

The winter was cold, unforgiving.
I longed for the warmth of my home.
But a promise to fight is a promise,
So I continued to brave the unknown.

Each twenty four hours more hellish,
Pushing on in the worst of the dregs
Watched my best friend in an instant
Holding what was left of his legs

We marched on for what seemed forever,
as the enemy kept getting bolder.
In one of the fiercest of all the fights,
I took a shrapnel blast to my shoulder.

From there I was done on the front lines,
And you'd think I'd be somewhat relieved.
But back home I just walked into loneliness,
to hurt and to suffer and grieve.

I am a wounded warrior.
I fought and I fought and I fought.
I would not wish my life upon anyone
Such is the pain that war wrought.

You don't need me.
I don't need you.
Together we ignite,
Like fireworks in the darkness.

You don't need me.
I don't need you.
We've tried and we've tried,
but we're hopelessly broken.

You don't need me.
I don't need you.
We've reached our natural end.
Still you refuse to let go...

Rain, rain, wash me away.
Drown me in the depths, let my spirit decay.

Lost and lifeless, adrift in the flood,
no fire in my heart, no surge in my blood.

Endlessly grasping at things not meant to be.
Left to live out forever in the cold of the sea

Rain, rain, wash me away.
Perhaps I'll find solace in this madness of grey.

Hello shame, my longtime friend.
Why do we chance to meet again?

Hello anger, Hello fury,
Constant companion to all my worry.

Hello guilt and pain and fear,
How do you always find me here?

Hello sadness, I still remember
The last time we met in the bleak December.

Hello anguish and days uncertain,
As you steal my light and drop the curtain.

I’m sure why it’s so quiet tonight.
Or why those old stars just don’t seem as bright.

You’d think there would be another person around,
But it’s only me and the trees and the damp, muddy ground.

What cause for the silence? I haven’t a clue.
Where do I go now? What do I do?

For I fear if I cannot find a rescuer soon,
I’ll simply fade into dust by the light of the moon.

I'm afraid this little poem,
doesn't have a lot to say.
No musings about life and death.
or lost loves along the way.

There's no long rumination,
about the world in which we live.
And in terms of inspiration,
well, it hasn't much to give.

It's not deep or thought provoking,
or even whimsical at all.
It's in no way wildly ambitious,
but rather short and plain and small.

Perhaps you're a bit curious,
about why I chose to write it.
I had a pen and I had an urge,
and it did not seem right to fight it.

Yes, it's just a little poem,
and you may find it quite a bore.
However, if I keep writing,
it won't be little anymore.

So thanks for stopping by
and taking time to read my friend,
but I think it's time we brought
this little poem to an end.