We'll fall in love
with a thin layer of smoke
between our lips
and a soft mixture of beer
and blood
running through our veins

We'll fall in love
in the dim lighting
where your eyes will hold mine
for longer
just in case
I can't see you perfectly

We'll fall in love
every night we spend together
and every morning
we'll duct tape our feelings
to the dusty floor
beneath your bed
until we pretend to find them
at the bottom of the stairs
the following weekend

We'll fall in love
without ever doing so
because that would be
stubbornly revolutionary
just as we are

He goes in to battle an innocent boy
but
returns a battle hardened soldier
Nothing will ever be the same for him
- Explosions paint his eyelids
- His ears still ring from bombs
- He wakes up pulling a non-existent trigger
- He's seen the deepest parts of hell
- He's watched men die at his feet, pleading for mercy
and people still wonder 'what ever happened to that little boy?'
That little boy...
He stared death in the face and lived to tell the tale.
He fought for a country that could care less.
He watched his men die at the hands of the enemy.
He left himself over there in the dirt with the men that died.
He faced people who hated everything he stood for.

But he fought for you.

Never ask what happened to that little boy.
You wont like the answer.

(Don't) go to war, my mother begged with wet eyes.
Your (family) country needs you. It will be your destiny (Demise.)

                  I took up my pack, shined my boots, shaved my head.
                                         Two years down the line,
I'll be home
                                                           ­                               I'll be dead.
                              We went into the killing ground,
Got the go ahead.
                                                         ­                        Bunkered down.
Fired away.
                                                          ­                       Hit the ground.
Served the flag.
                                                          ­                       Burned it down.
                    And in the middle of the field, there stood a soldier
                         And my (his) mortar took him  (me) in the shoulder,
and I whispered
                                                       ­                          And I whispered,

See, Mom?
                                                           ­                        I'm sorry, Mom...
I was right.
                                                         ­                          You were right.

                            And in the end, no matter who was right,

I came home.                                                           ­       I Died alone.

                            *There's a dead soldier in the ground,
                                            a grieving mother,
                                              a widowed wife.

I looked down a high cliff
at a restless ocean below,
I climbed the proud mountains
crowned with lofty clouds,
I reached the serene jungles
sitting in silent pride,
I did not find it...
I visited the richest nawabs
in their castles and towers,
I ate with the lowliest creatures
whom language didn't own,
I met the right-hands and mouths
of Gods we know from pages,
yet, I didn't find it...
At last, lost in thought
I walked by a crowd
Some in white, some in black, some in uniform.
All turned to a majestic but still figure
In an honored embrace of the Tricolour
Twenty-one guns and croaking crows later
I heard a little girl's cry -
"Keta 9GR ko ** ke hoena" - ** ** **
The tears never ceased,
The roar never stopped
With faltering steps, the brave-heart...
There.
I found it,I found inspiration.

(Refer to the notes)

Guns and bullets.
Destroy dreams Of a kid who lost a father,
A son to a mother,
And a love to be surrender.

Body laid on the ground,
Lifeless,
Covered with his own blood.
Poured in his land.

Serving
Peace ,
For us to sleep,
At ease.

Their life,
Dreams,
And sacrifice.
Is enough.

Their battle,
Will never be won,
When we always think,
For our own instead for our nation.

Filipino ,
**** Filipino?
Where is the love and peace,
Mga kababayan  ko? (My countrymen)

Tagapagligtas naming sundalo(soldier),
You're a hero,
In a heart of every Filipino.
Remembering  you.

White, hot, agonizing pain.
The avoided impediment.
But everyone gets shot.
The war line is diminished.

And it’s hard to go against the grain.
Fight for independence;
To have freedom of thought.
The need for war finally extinguished.

I'm lost
I'm alone
my future
is unknown

I'm hurt
I'm in pain
under this
bullet's rain

I try
not to cry
not to fade
not to die

I fight
through the night
until darkness
Becomes light

I hold
onto life
onto the memory
of my wife

I persist
I resist
in hope
to be kissed

I return
I survive
I don´t dream
I revive

I'm awake
I'm alive
with you
I thrive

I'm a soldier
I'm a fighter
with you
I shine brighter

An axe.
A sword.
The horse
He rode.

A bow.
An arrow.
His heart
of sorrow.

His armour
and shield
in the
battlefield.

That loss of
breath.
His comrade's
death.

Weapons did
clash.
Decisions were
rash.

Heavy was His
head
with all the
bloodshed.

Years were
spent
till the war's
end.

He returned finally
to his love.
Looked towards the sky
there flew a dove.

An empty locket is not hard to find
take a look at the neck
and you can find a chain
take a glimpse of their eyes
don't get lost in the void*




I know Lisa didn't believe in a lost cause
she had stout faith ingrained within her
that she could charge strong against a throng of men
who fated her to be wrapped tight in white gauze
who left the soldiers that couldn't be found in the fog
those riddled with led, disease and debris
to fill the bellies of those starving dogs

and now that my baby's in the hospital
locked in a state of alive but not living
I caress the locket she always wore
and I laugh where the tears come out
because it's a picture of my face
I laugh because if my little girl woke up
she would not stay in her place
she does not believe in fate
all she'd know is that her daddy hasn't
been helping people recently
would tell me I'm a disgrace

And I too wear a locket, the heart is pink
I've never wanted to ink it black, it's a gift
I received from my brave baby girl who used
her tooth fairy money when she was thirteen

I recall her saying I could put Sarah's photo there
but I said no, little Queen
there are pictures all over the house I can see,
right now all I need is you and me

that was that last time I felt strong
over and over, she opened my eyes
I kept learning I was wrong
I wasn't supposed to wait for cries
she said holding someone up is not enough
once they've broken on the inside

I have heard many more lectures from my princess
but I need her to wake up and make me remember
because I have been forgetting all my good parts
that came from her teachings of surrendering
your body and your heart in hopes you'll give
the multitudes a better start

so, Lisa
whenever you're ready
open your eyes

I'm all set to stop withering
I'll stop sitting here as I've done for three years
and you can return exactly as you were
in all of your glittering

In the trench alone.
when will I go home?
From No mans land I hear another moan.
surely, he will not go home.
Mans fight to the death.
"Please come home" our nearest say under their breath.
Blood turns the mud red.
How many more boys and men will go home dead?
A moments silence.
Bird song.
A trickling stream.
It's just a dream.
Mustard gas!
Barbed wire!
Gun fire!
In the trench alone.
When will I go home?