You ever stop and think that this place use to be beautiful
the plants,animals and landscape
I heard from my buddies that this was the place to visit
although i didn't plan on visiting in a uniform holding a rifle
I've seen the postcards of this place and man,
it was gorgeous
it was before the colonization
the expansion
the industrialization
the pollution
conflict
invasion
war.
I wanted to come here to glide over the mountains
not doing CAP in an BlackHawk
I wanted to relax by the ocean
not doing swimming drills at 5AM
I wanted to go on safaris
Not patrols.
Mmmhmm
Well, you know what they say,
You don't get everything you wan

Son, I want you to listen
Daddy has to go away on a mission
I need you to take care of your mother and sister
Tell them everyday you love them and kiss them
I'm going away for awhile, I'll be back soon
I promise, I'll be back soon
Now son, you don't have to cry
even though I must say goodbye
I will come home one day
so we can laugh and play
If you ever get sad or lonely, just listen to a tune
and trust me, I'll be home soon

I've been hearing a lot of people talking smack about the officers.
They say were a bunch of stuck up, privileged, *******.
That ain't far from the truth for the officers of other factions.
Not for us though.
Because in the Army,
ranks are earned,
not given.
They are earned through empty casings and spent mags,
through broken bones and shattered hopes.
Through the finished ammo belts and used grenades.
When you're promoted,
its not a ceremony,
its a declaration.
A declaration that you fought through the carnage,
the bodies and the mayhem.
You, of all the soldiers in your unit,
are a badass.
Even if you maybe aren't right in the head.
The chevron on your shoulder is a reminder.
Whether its a good one, or a bad one,
that's your choice

You would think that poetry has to be structured
followed within a set of rules, or guidelines
while this is true for some forms of poetry
not all of it must follow rules
let your mind wander and run around
brainstorming ideas like crazy
poetry is a form of expression and as such,
should be given the freedom to do whatever the hell it wants
Writing poetry is fun and awesome
maybe you're not the best at it, it doesn't matter
what matters is that you express yourself through it
I may be bad at writing poetry,
but I sure as hell have fun doing it

Being a veteran doesn't mean being wise
it means losing emotion
you stop feeling pain, sorrow, love, happiness
hell, you stop feeling, plain and simple
you bury your conscious so deep 6 feet won't do it
you've got to dig to the center of the earth to find traces of it
you bottle your feelings like bullets in a magazine
waiting to fire and hurt someone
whether you meant to or not
you don't want to leave your house
you don't want to socialize
you sit in your room
brooding on the past
about the lives you ended
and the ones you couldn't save
the ones you changed
you remember it all
down to the smallest detail
how many holes were in your best friend
or how many tears were on his girlfriends face when she got the news
When you come home, you gain respect and attention
the opposite of what you want
being left alone and ignored is paradise now
All the memories haunt you now
the one thing you remember clearest
was the first ****

For a lot of people, they have a special someone in their life. Not their best friend, mind you, but someone who after seeing, you just can't helping grinning like an idiot. Whether you see them at work or at school, whether they work on the same floor or they're in the same class, you always managed to sneak a peak at them every so often. Whenever you see them, you can't help but feel happy and all warm inside. Maybe they're some one you've known for a long time or you've only recently met, but they're there, never the less.

Now take a step back, and look at the bigger picture. You realize that you, my dear friend, are that special someone for someone in the world. Maybe its for tens, hundreds or thousands of people, or just one, you brighten someones day a whole lot, without even trying. You may never know who thinks you are their special someone, or maybe they will tell you one day. Just know this, you help someone get through another day, just by being there.

you ever get that one feeling, deep inside you?
you just feel like something isn't right
like you ate some bad food or feel like there's a storm coming?
that's my daily routine
Constantly feel threatened
in danger
about to die, to put it simply
for the first couple of days
you're the most paranoid thing on earth
everyone's out to get you
you're not safe anywhere
after awhile though
you get used to it
you're not carefree, no
you're just not hiding a knife under your coat
and every time some one walks by you
You've got one hand in your jacket
clutching that knife
its more like you learn rules
about when its safe
or whether its not

One giant black plain, that's one word for it
people for decades have tried to describe it
understand it, and explore it
so far, we are without success
We haven't half of the worlds oceans
yet there is something out there
a thousand times bigger
and a thousand times more dangerous
Its eerily beautiful in a way
Cosmic anomalies, hundreds of light years away
twisting and dancing with bright and spectacular colors
Theses artistic clouds are something out of a dream
beautiful to look at from afar
For now, we can only observe them
One day, we hope to be able to reach out to the corners of space
and really see whats out there

When I joined the army, I had no ******* idea what I was doing
you would think, if you're putting your life on the line, you would have a reason
not me
some say they do it for their country
others for glory and riches
some do it because they don't have other options
well, I guess I always wanted to be famous
I saw the recruitment ads one day and thought
"seems fun, why the hell not?"
I had no idea what I was getting into
You join up as rank and file
a meat shield, walking corpse
you go for glory, but a lot of times you don't find it
when you finally do though
its nothing like you imagined
you think before that they will be parades and speeches and parties
a medal or a key to the city, something naive like that
that's not what happens
do your job a bit different
and all of a sudden people congratulate you
saying you're a hero
a patriot
but really, you were just a soldier
doing your job
all the celebrations seem bleak and grey
no amount of awards or medals means anything
all the interviews and appearances are dull
you read the lines they tell you
and sometimes say some ******* cliche
but in your head
you just repeat to yourself
I was just doing my job

I am alive, for now
I've lost count of how many days have gone by
all I know for certain is this,
I will not survive the next 24 hours
I can't explain it, I just know
It's quite liberating actually
knowing when you're going to die
the worst thing to do is panic, to try and alter the future
what you should do I relax
and have a look back
a look back at your life
the good memories
the bad ones
and everything in between
its worth something to you
your very first memory
the first time you walked
the first day of school
riding a bike
your first day at high school
your first girlfriend
the proposal
the wedding
your first child
raising them as your own
and letting them live their life
everything is worth something
so hold it tight
and don't let go