Another one from the archives, trying to understand the War On Terror: From Human to Man © Corey Cowan I found my father’s Medal of Honor He received for killing others Sworn enemies of the United States Who had sworn to kill our brothers Sitting there, I vowed to follow In the same family tradition Of defending Freedom and Liberty Against terrorism and sedition The common mantra chanted Was Son, when you have finished, You’ll become a man, big and strong Like Popeye eating spinach When I reached the age of eighteen I enlisted as a Marine As a bonus I could travel the world And see sights I’d never seen In boot camp, they squashed us down Into something less than human They issued clothes and issued boots To me and my fellow vermin They issued knives they issued guns Issued helmets and armored vests They issued orders to cross the borders And exterminate these vicious pests Hunkering down in a foreign land Filled with terrorists and their spies So much death and so much blood I couldn’t believe my eyes! We must kill them preemptively Lest they preemptively kill us. With suicide bombers and IEDs That could take out an entire bus Killing wasn’t what I’d imagined With each death I felt no pride I lost something, not quite sure what But it left a gaping hole inside And “The Hole” just seemed to grow In size each time I took a life. The guy “posing” as a grocery clerk Begged me not to kill his wife. Intel confirmed, she’s an insurgent So I shot her in the head Not just once, but a dozen times To make sure she was dead With tearful eyes and a mournful cry He pleaded we spare his daughter But my comrades and I just raped her Then we took her out and shot her We then left him propped up armless Unable to wipe away his tears This vision burned into my brain Has stuck with me all these years After so much time exposed to war And to death and sheer destruction I discovered what “The Hole” consumed Through Post Traumatic Stress Deduction In my frequent recurring nightmares That now haunt me every night I ask “hu” am I and “hu” were they That should demand that we both fight? Are we really that much different In our goals of self-protection? Do we each not love our families For whom we show affection? One night I woke with an epiphany My own medal clutched in hand I was a “human” when I left for war, But returned home just a “man.”
Posted on: Sat, 15 Mar 2014 17:14:12 +0000
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