CASUALTY
25.4.05
he watched his family slip away
one by one disappearing
the huddled masses
in no man’s land
welcomed him
one of their own people in a dirty war
he walked the streets
at any time of day
watched the soldiers marching through
saw the people go on
into the square
meeting the bullets of the battalion there
on and on they surged into death
because they believed
he crossed the bridge in knee high socks
an old black and white photograph
browned like a soiled memory
etched in his mind
a time when poison came from the sky
pretty packages of death
for the little children
along the leveled city streets
cruised a tank
if anyone in uniform found him
he was just another casualty of war
living day by day
with nothing but a name
the government decided who survived
no one to trust
who may not betray you
even now sitting at home
with his tv buzzing
and his children watching him
hanging on his every word
he is still fighting that battle in his head
whether he lives now or then
he has always been
a casualty of war
posted by Ambrrrr
