I Began A Soldier Poem by Alex waters

I Began A Soldier

Rating: 4.8


I began a soldier,
Quite a time ago,
When my heart was bolder
And my blood could flow.

We were quite a pair,
My friend and I,
Free from care,
And unafraid to die.

We killed for our country,
There was no other reason,
Causing my friend to flee,
Before committing treason.

He came to me
With deep concern.
“Let us run most eagerly,
Or else we both shall burn.”

Lonesome was my answer,
Ghastly a reply,
“I just may stick it out,
And give it another try.”

Now here I am
Eager to kill;
Taking the lamb,
Taking free will.

“Six points my boys
Search them well.
It’s faith that destroys,
Not your general.”

“We must purify the race,
For it is the cure.
Now pick up the pace,
‘Tis the will of the Fuer! ”

I was an usher of death,
Leading people to their graves.
Torturing without mercy,
Destroying lifeless slaves.

But one night in a dream,
Came he without a name.
He sought out a life to redeem,
And said I should do the same.

“Mercy is your weapon,
Use it sparingly.
As an act of kind compassion,
Prove you care indeed.”

Surely conscience cannot be beat.
For fear of further misused power,
The battle must end in defeat,
And march me towards my darkest hour.

So now I turn,
'There is a lighter side,
And my soldiers must learn, ”
I sadly cried.

I waited for night to be deep.
I wished it all to be done,
As I rocked them asleep,
To the sound of a gun.

Next I set the prisoners free,
Shut and locked the door.
Set fire to a tapestry,
And burned once more.

It was just another day
In Nazi Germany.
Except now I can say
That I burn at ease.

COMMENTS OF THE POEM
Philip Lore 26 February 2009

Nicely done. Tx Phil

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~ Jon London ~ 26 February 2009

We stand, we fight to survive we live for peace but our freedom dies. Nice job Jon

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Barry A. Lanier 24 February 2009

Alex this is a wonderfully creative and well thought poem addressing a sensitive and complex subject yet you pulled this reader into the internal struggles of the soldier and the ultimate sacrifice and remedy for his pain.....knowing millitary heirarchy and having to think about all the issues of morality that so manythousands of German soldiers had to address...the German people are in fact just like all other humanity yet they were caught up in the hold of a fearless and murderous sociopath

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Greenwolfe 1962 24 February 2009

I'm not going to say much about this poem. The reason is, this poem speaks for itself and I have written a poem called WAR CRIMES that all who read this poem should read. I'll leave it at that. This is a story poem. A good one. GW62

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Inner Whispers 19 February 2009

why on earth that we are trained to be tough but not our conscience, our heart? I cried, when I read this....Why? 'coz to be a soldier w/o mercy i am sure I will be...few more days from now...this touches my heart.10

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