With the sweat that drips from the back of slaves,

Whipped to the death with debts for the pennies their master saves.

With the tears of all those mothers whose soldier sons were taken,

And were promptly returned, empty shells, to their core shaken.

With the lost innocence of a kid, forced to lie to himself just to fit in

Coerced into being trapped inside his own skin.

With the painful truth behind the anguish

hidden behind the tears that fall from the face of the almost vanquished.