Unfinished War. Poem by Robert Toews

There's a war I never finished fighting,
it haunts me still.
A war that no one won,
and no one ever will
But an ending to my misery may never come.

It started when I was a boy
not strong enough to ever be a hero.
The enemy was ruthless,
and I buckled under every blow

But still I fought, because I thought that I would win.

For years I thought of all the ways
to win the war,
with no one on my side to face
the terrible enemy.
Countless nights I'd pray for grace,
then toss and turn, and wait for day, to dawn upon my agony.

The sun would rise, but pain would never go away.

Time and time again I stepped onto the battlefield,
only to be stabbed by ugly swords.
And when I fell defeated on the ground,
they'd rain on me thier hateful words,
and leave me there to rise and heal again.

Then came the day I stood with an arrow in my bow,
I wanted to so badly, but couldn't let it go.
I hadn't enough courage, or was it lack of strength that kept my hand from that critical release?
I'll never know.

I gave up, I had no other choice,
and nothing could be mended.
The war was as far from done
as the day on which it had begun,
but I guess that's where it ended.

I wish I knew the reason why
I was left to live a life without that victory.
I should have let the arrow fly
or should have I?
Certainly I would not have won the war, but would it have left me satisfied?

There is a reason no one won that war,
although the reason is not mine to know.
I'm burdened with this awful scar
that's carved into my soul.

there's no one that will see my tears
for I'll never let them go.

It's locked inside the heart of me
behind an iron door,
that holds the secret to the place I call 'unfinished war'.

There's a war I never finished fighting,
and it haunts me still.
A war they thought that they could win,
but they never will.

And an ending to my secret misery will never come.