Can a man go his own way without a
covered wagon, a horse and a lantern;
he only knew that the world had changed;
there are too many fences to be free

He sees too much before he dies and he
knows a man is not supposed to cry; but
the tears he holds back are the same as
the tears of a man whose eyes are blind

He knew a woman once whose memory
of the war was only about love that
became a ghost in the night that always
loved her because he knew why she wept

He knew a man who was not afraid to die
for his country or to love the same woman
for life; it was the only way he could sleep
for duty was more soothing than fear

He wept alone because his prayers were
answered yet another man suffered for
his desire; how could he know what to
ask of a God who confused our faith?

He saw the pain of explaining the men she
once loved; his own weakness was honor
among men yet she was forced to deny
the shame of how loneliness made her feel

Floating aerial fish warned those who could
only wonder why those who care for them
must **** another innocent child for a zero
sum game of death by most favored nations

These things he read about; he wondered of
their terror, but their lives were embroidered
by history’s desire to reward those who gave
so much for those who weep upon their graves