Dog Tag Blues Poem by O.S. Brooks

Lord
I've been traveling
Weary with stress
from the long daunting day
Down
This bumpy old road
where men have died
and boys become men
And
I feel
Like the sun has fallen

I have found light
in the akward still moments where dreams
take me away from the pain
And you
Search for yourself
Till gloom
circles your soul
I'll be
here
my heaven on earth
my moon lit star kiss
I loved
till skys weren't enough

So
I walk
through the storm
facing rain clouds again
till my worn shoulders hurt
and the chill dies away
as if life is enough
and our message will bloom
that war isn't worth
my losing of you

I'm a king in the sun
till the mind goes blank
till the day grows old
till the memories fade
I get up
too early
before the wake of the day
just to get things done
hoping joy comes my way

With a slow steady pulse in my hand
I bring change to a bullet torn land
till my worn shoulders hurt
searching for truth on this earth
Cause
this life
is a race till death
and I ran mine
wasted in tune
I
thought
music
would save my soul
but it only
brought me
the blues
There must be
something
beyond the grave
where we will not
lose attitude
Cause we
fall and we fight the wrong
but sometimes the right
kills us to
So
Just teach us to dream
but more so
to believe
and to open our wings
and to fly
and to soar
and prosper
and leave
righteously
like you
built us
of storms from the sea
I take time
to kill blues
when I do
I am free
Got dog tags
to prove my rank
but you do not ask them of me
You just
open
your loving arms
and ask me to
live by my deeds
And
I wake
and I help
and I hurt
but it's good
when the earth
comes alive
with the love
that I shared
over time
when I could
I just sung
and believed
that my time
was approaching
and you would
do one more for me