He sat by the fire and raised a glass
Mumbling words from his secret past
I watched him wipe some tears away
As he recalled their final days

As a curious child, I wondered why
My heroic father would sit and cry
Or scream out, from his soaked bed
Pleading to stop the noise in his head

We would hide away, each bonfire night,
In fear of the noise, the smoke and the light
He thought our home was under attack
Lost in the daze of a random flashback

As he grew old I understood why
This brave soldier would sit and cry
He lost his family not bound by blood
Witnessed things that no human should

Mental scars burned deep in his mind
From the devastation, he left behind
He was a prisoner of war every day
Locked in a memory…
...his mind would replay