Do we dare dream to fall?, to fly... to go crashing through the bedroom door
Where we tumble and roll and slowly lose all of our clothes
Lost under the sheets we ride shooting stars
Circle the sun in the blink of an eye
Catch a glimpse of eternity inbetween the beat of our hearts
Do we dare turn the page and find ourselves living a storybook life
Hopes and wishes blooming like flowers all night and all day
And when we read between the lines we find a love so perfect it's almost cliche
If we dare to sneak a glimpse and skip to the last page
Would it be a black and white classic of two aged hands holding a heart that still beats wildly and madly and impossibly in love
Dare we..

I
I lied
when I said
“I’ll be home soon,
don’t you worry about me”
I just didn’t want to hear you
burst into tears
through the receiver
for it would also rain
down my cheeks
under the shadow of my helmet.


II
I lied
when I said
“Victory is ours”
after two nights and a wake-up
the only thing that was ours
were the dead bodies
of my comrades
bullet holes looked like
constellations
a mixture of green and red
on the concrete sky


III
I lied
when I said
“Prepare a feast,
decorate the streets,
the hero
is coming home”
when all I did was cower behind
a fort of soil and barbed wires
shaking
barely breathing
white knuckles
tightly gripping the Garand
as they circled the area
like vultures
searching for prey
in a desert full of bones


IV
I lied
to keep you from worrying
about my safety
because dear,
no one is safe
on the battlefield


V
I lied
as I took my oath
each word piercing my throat
like swallowing needles
when they pinned on my uniform,
the entire collection
glistening in the
morning light
the clanging noise as I march
like church bells
ringing a haunting sound
echoing through the hallway
the weight of the carats
is nothing
compared to the weight
of my guilt


VI
I lied
when I told you
that I was a hero
when I came home
but son,
the real heroes
are six feet
under the stone.