A soldier he was
But soldier no more
Twenty years or so
A veteran of war

Afghanistan, Hawaii, East Timor
A soldier of war
A soldier of war

Bringing back souvenirs
Another scar, another day
Where everyone was frontline
And they suffered the pain

He came home again
But everything had changed
The person he could've been
His choices had rearranged.

I sat and spoke with him
When I ran away from home
Just me and him, in the park
On the grass and together alone.

He apologised for not being there
When I needed him most
First time I've ever really seen him cry
Hard for him to compose

He held out my hands
"Did you think you were given a ***?
Of anger, that's all you'll get in life?"
He looked me in the eyes, his own watering a lot

He looks away, sniffles a bit
"I found out the hard way"
And as he does, I see his pain
From twenty years ago to this very day

Afghanistan, Hawaii, East Timor and beyond
My own father
My own father
A veteran of war