Dedicated to all of the women and men who have been driven into such unnecessary, senseless, ****** conflicts:

Please, Lord, take this sword of mine,
And turn it into a ploughshare fine.
Let me cut through the earth for food,
Instead of soaking soil with blood.

Is there peace now; oh, can I rest?
Come back home; I’ve done my best.
Is there hope beneath silent stars?
Or just more nights in crowded bars?

They don’t know the pain I hide,
Nightmare killings trapped inside!
And here I kneel, Lord, to confess,
But cannot escape what I possess!

I fought the war and put ‘em down;
Blown through every enemy town.
And still they scream inside my head;
These haunting souls around my bed.

They don’t know the pain I hide,
Nightmare killings trapped inside!
And here I kneel, Lord, to confess,
But cannot escape what I possess!

No, I cannot escape what I possess…

To those who live such nightmares, and I am privileged to personally know some of you, may God finally grant you some peace and rest … and may the same God finally grant wisdom and discernment to the leaders of this country, steering them away from waging war, toward pursuing peace.