Scars Of War Poem by Elizabeth Fontaine Grieco

Scars of War

You say your calling was the Marines,
But yet your life remains apart at the seams.

You say the life of a soldier
Is what saved you from yourself,
But vivid dreams continue to haunt you
to reveal remanants of the torture,
You had to inflict.
How does the act justify the means?

You say, your honor was stolen from you!
But who stole it from you?

You say, it was the politicians in the end,
that left you scorned.

You say we fought in a senseless war,
In the end you were left feeling void,

Void of any human compassion. How could my
Countrymen have abandoned us?

Why were we such an embarrasment to them?
Our politician's and leader's had us believing that
it was our war as well as theirs. What enemy?
Who's enemy? Their enemy or ours? Was it easier to forget
Those brave men who selflessly gave of themselves
For their country?

You say again, how could they have abandoned us?
No recongnition, no bands playing, just a few
Surviving pictures that tell the story of the
Suffering and the innocence we left beind,
Only to realize that it will continue to burn
In our minds and leave us scared for an eternity!