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Jim Marchel Nov 2016
When my feet touch the grass

In the place I call home,

My reception will not be that at all,

But a valediction.
A poem for my brothers and sisters I serve with. This place will never leave my heart, no matter how hard I try to tear the two apart.
E Copeland Oct 2016
“I would compare falling out of love more to coming home from war. It is a slow process, but then suddenly it is gone. You prepare for months and weeks to return from war. The days seem to drag. And then you’re home and you have no idea what to do with yourself. You can spend forever fighting with the one you love, trying to make them stay, trying to remind them who they were, but then suddenly it’s over and they’re gone. And akin to loud noises seeming like gunshots, people’s voices sound too much like theirs and certain songs sound like them coming home. It is hell. And I’m not sure it ever goes away. Maybe you drown out the similar voices and you learn new songs, but one day you hear a gunshot ring out, and you’re back where you started.”
Excerpt from a book I hope I finish #1
tamia Oct 2016
trained to protect
armed in heart
dressed in courage
camouflage clothes
brave hearts
murdered unjustly
brave hearts
who were put down
by the gunmen
brave hearts
caught in the web of conflict
when they were the fearless
who only wanted
to keep us safe
for the fallen 44: the Philippine National Police-Special Action Force who were shot down by the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters. you will never be forgotten and we thank you for your bravery. we are sorry.
tracy Oct 2016
we've become a collection of bucket lists.
hypothetical "let's do this", "let's be here",
and "i'll go wherever you go."
but instead of marking minutes,
i'm marking miles. 3 states, 2 time zones,
and sometimes, an ocean apart.

but oh, my dearest, don't you know?
even when i'm here and you're there,
the sun still shines. the moon gets me home,
and every step i take is a step closer to you.

to my darling johnny, when your heart is weary,
when the days are brown and your eyes are tired,
rest easy. a parade is waiting for you. there is no
sadder, scarier, or more heartbreaking feeling than
loneliness. but dear john, you are never alone.

when days and days have passed and silence becomes
our preferred form of communication, your letters will come.
the bucket lists will turn into sticky-note reminders that someone
has you planted in her heart and allowed flowers to grow.
for all soldiers, including my own, abroad.
KarmaPolice Oct 2016
Etched in his mind,
The internal war,
Haemorrhaging blood,
Hidden once more,

Slowly he’s dying,
His body too weak,
Paralysed lips,
Unable to speak,

Traumatic life,
Slipping away,
His heavy soul,
Aching today.

He witnessed it all,
The burden unseen,
Screaming their names,
Tortured in dream,

His cries settle,
His memory fades,
Wiping the tears,
For former comrades.

(Repeat)
KarmaPolice Oct 2016
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
(Fiction)
Francis Sep 2016
Marching up the hill with his fellow troops,
His insides are ready to burst with anticipation.
Growling and bubbling, his stomach seems to sound off as his hands quiver holding his rifle.
The soldier cannot turn back, as he must fight for his freedom against evil,
Though the art of having a choice has been long forgotten.

This soldier knows not of his fate.
He's petrified of what is to come,
Whether he survives or not.
If he dies,
He dies with honor,
yet he's not afraid of dying.
He's afraid of being forgotten.
If he survives,
He survives with honor,
Not expecting of a soul to recognize the sacrifice he has made for his own,
And failing to discover it as he lives on.

His beliefs are meaningless,
His pride is no longer relevant.
What requires quality is the strength to fight,
To fear no man aiming to take away his freedom,
And his life.

Facing what can be assumed as evil,
Yet never needing to know what true evil is really like.
The soldier has seen evil,
Evil awaits again willingly.
But he is not afraid.
This is more like it
Aly Sep 2016
On a dark, dank desolated street pavement  
Stands a street lamp.
Made to guide those in need of the light.
Groomed to be brave, fearless and unwavering
Manufactured specifically to be aids
In the dark times that the city faced.

Served its purpose in the many years it stood
Lighting the way for cars as best as it could.
It shone for carriages, for kings and queens
Keeping them from harm whilst vesting the unknown
It shone for great leaders in the front line of their battles
Served as a safety sign for everyone at night.

In recent times it’s started to flicker
On and off and on and off and on and off it goes
While the mist in the streets grow thicker
No longer did it hold its eminent glow
Neck seemingly bent unlike it’s natural curve
Once flawless skin covered in blotches of dirt and rust
Its wires exposed, veins pressed against the skin
No more muscle or fat hide it

Vandalized by the impurities this world had to offer
Seemed as though it’s the people it kept safe that turned on it
He deserved a better way to die.
Not buried in forgotten memories and set aside
It served a great purpose in the hopeless tears that everyone shed in the dark
Now uprooted and thrown in the junkyard
More or less to be used like scrap metal like the rest of its kind.
Thank you.
A Homework for Poetry class
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