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THE BOYS OF WAR
As boys, they sent us off to fight,
We did as we were told.
On our return, as men, we found,
A nation bleak and cold.
As boys, we went so full of pride,
We'd be heroes on our return.
As men, we left our childhood there,
And quickly had to learn.
No hero’s we, the boys of war,
That fought and died as men.
For honor and a heroes' welcome,
Your battles you must win.
It wasn't enough to suffer and bleed,
For a country so full of pride.
It had no use for a losing cause,
So they cast us all aside.
There was no honor in saying, I served,
If I couldn't say I had won.
So we kept to ourselves and spoke not a word,
Of what we had seen and done.
We all went our way and built a shell,
Then quietly crawled inside.
The world we knew had ceased to exist,
We were stripped of all our pride.
We told no one of the pain we felt,
For who was there to tell.
When America turned her back on us,
She doomed each to a private hell.
Gone forever, the days of youth,
Left somewhere far behind.
No thanks were offered for blood we shed,
No rest for a troubled mind.
For years we wandered, alone and lost,
Left to deal with the hurt and pain.
By a country wanting only the glory,
Without accepting the blame.
Today the hurt is still inside,
Though the war was a lifetime ago.
At last we're learning it's not a sin,
To let your feelings show.
We gather today in veterans group,
And friends that will lend an ear.
That understand how we feel inside,
When we talk of our pain and fear.
At last I'm learning to live with myself,
Not so strong the urge to roam.
As I had when a boy went away to war,
And a bitter old man came home.
#
Copyright 2002 - Roger Heard
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Roger Heard
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