In Basra’s war torn city, a soldier stands so tall,
Smiling at the locals, with his back against a wall,
Beneath a veil of calmness, his heart beats like a drum,
Thinking of the folks he loves, his girl back home and Mum,


The sun is burning down on him, it burns his reddened skin,
This checkpoint duty daily, wears his temper wafer thin,
Another hour of waiting, to protect this peasant mob
Then back home to the bunker for a shower and get some grub


A young girl reaches up to him, a scar upon her face,
Her Daddy won’t be coming home, this picture takes his place,
A tear runs down a dirty cheek and rags adorn her feet,
She laughs then skips to join the queue for bread and food to eat,


A cloud of dust arises, a scream runs through the stalls,
His senses into overdrive, he strains to see the cause,
He sights a dark Sedan, inside a body dressed in black,
The soldier charges forward screaming warnings to get back,


He clearly sees the face and eyes of one that’s set to die,
His forward movement halted, as he hears a muted cry,
The girl that smiled so kindly now lay injured on the ground,
He stoops to raise her fragile form, and turns himself around



The blast was heard for miles around, he felt the red hot air,
Felt molten iron down his back; his head was raised in prayer,
God help this tiny child I hold, the last thought in his mind,
His limbs were scattered far and wide, the pieces all to find


Quiet through the market now, the dust cloud fell to ground,
A mourning mass was gathered, such a grisly mess they found
The soldiers body buried deep beneath a market stall,
A muffled cry of help they heard, a tiny little call


They dug and pulled the stall out, the soldier long was dead,
But underneath his body they could see a tiny head,
They lifted out the torso, and then helped her stand alone
She could not see the carnage yet or hear the injured moan


In Basra’s war torn city, a soldier stands so tall,
Smiling at the locals, with his back against a wall,
He wonders who the plaque was for fifteen years ago
A scarred girl lays her flowers, says a prayer and turns to go

Look under the mask we soldiers wear,
look under the mask if you dare.
Look under the mask and see behind,
Or are you scared of what you’ll find.

We are not beasts nor men of war,
we do not wait to hear deaths door.
We do not relish the death we see,
we only fight by your decree.

You condemn us all as if you knew,
you say your words without a clue.
You dare not look into our eyes,
dying daily under scorching skies.

We serve and watch our brother’s fall,
but hear the names you give us all.
Please take a moment look and see,
our fears, our terror, our misery.

We are not heroes from comic books,
we’re not all handsome blessed with looks.
We are not fearless men of war,
but merely reapers by deaths door.

You sent us here or so it seems,
and expect our hands to stay so clean.
But in this place we see such sights,
which make your sons change overnight.

You hear of a child just last night killed,
and the fathers heart with hatred filled.
You say god bless please don’t feel shame,
if I were he I’d feel the same.

But in our case you blame us quick,
no thought of what has made us sick.
It was not daughter, son or kin,
but one of our brothers – our brethren.

We really are a band of brothers,
our mates beside us from one mother.
She guides us through both day and night,
and if we’re lucky past the fire fight.

And when a son of hers doth die,
in writhing agony screaming why.
His brothers gathered by his side,
we hold his hand and watch him die.

You have to know just how this felt,
my brother a boy (God how I wept).
He squeezed my hand and kissed it too,
and begged for me to pull him through.

I lied of course and told him “sure",
I lied because there was no cure.
I lied to let him die in peace,
I lied to make his pleading cease.

We watched him crying, spewing blood,
we watched him twitching soaked in mud.
We held him tight to let him know,
his brothers were with him – time to go.

To go through this but not just then,
but time and time more boys again.
You tend to lose the human code,
and mutate into killing mode.

Are we still human I hear you ask,
it changes daily from task to task.
But picture now what we go through,
now ask yourself the truth, could you?

I am not here to change the bad,
what some do in war is more than sad.
But try to imagine the awful facts,
you can’t get close, thank God for that.

Your little boy who went to war,
your little baby to foreign shores.
Please understand we still are here,
but look past our sin and see our tears.

We’ve seen such horrors done to mates,
we’ve lain and wept till sleep us takes.
Our nightly dreams of things gone past,
bodies of others torn by blasts.

So when you condemn our brothers now,
Remember please this poem and how -
We’ve paid for war with blood and sin,
please don’t make us pay yet again.

But if you want to hound us down,
bring us to justice before the crown.
Bear this in mind before you do,
what would you have done if we were you?

I’d not have done it I hear you shout,
they signed the line let’s throw them out!
God help you sleep at peace tonight,
and pray you never have to fight.

To close this poem I admit the shame,
the guilt of sin this weight of pain.
I’ll live with this my whole life through,
give thanks to God it was not you.


Like soldiers gone in wars before - adieu.

Friends are the best thing that god has giving me
i will cherish them till eternity
they have left inprints on my heart which i will never forget
neither the memories they have left

the smiles will never truly fad
all the laughs will never go away
the conversations are still fresh in my mind
forever in my heart you will always be mine

there's a place in my heart which will always be there
even if you leave i will still care
i will always have a shoulder you can cry on when your in need
i will be the bandaid that heals you when you bleed

i will alway help you put your heart back together when its all shattered
as long as where together nothing else matters
cuz together you and me will make it to the end
i just want to say thank you my friend