Patriots, Not Heroes Poem by the poet

I am but a normal person,
But I live for a greater reason,
My life is for my country,
I will ward away all our enemies,
When I heard the call of duty,
Without doubt I am ready…

Locked and loaded with my brothers in arm,
We stormed enemy territory in alarm,
With guns and grenades blazing,
And cannons and air strikes bombing,
At the heart of the urban jungle,
With threats at every angle,
We advanced with full caution,
Armed with lightning fast reaction,
One by one our enemies fall,
Brought down by our defense wall,
One by one their stronghold fall,
Without any mercy at all.

After much bloodlust and gore,
Our blood, sweat and tears we ignore,
As we rejoice in our victory,
Another chapter in the histories of glory,
Another moment we earned for our country.

As I holster my weapon I can see,
Lying all around are people like you and me,
I paused in shock as I stare,
Blood, bodies everywhere,
When I turn around I can find,
Some of my comrades are not so fine,
While others are suffering in pain.
I realized my actions are but of shame.

As I woke up from my senseless self,
Emerging from this bitter hell,
Ally or enemy they are all human beings,
How can I erase all my sins?
When I fight for honor to my land,
Now all that’s left is blood in my hand,
This irony is killing me from within,
Like a snake slithering under my skin…

Regret is my only remorse,
I cannot undo what I did for the cause,
But I can’t understand why must it be like this,
Why can’t we all just live in peace,
Must all our encounters be by siege?
With my tainted flag I left,
The ache forever in my chest…

A medal of honor they gave to me,
Called me a hero, cheered as can be,
But in my heart I know this not be,
I have done evil deeds as you can see…

“We are all soldiers, struggling for our country,
Obeying all orders doing anything necessary,
We are not heroes, we are patriots,
We do not save lives, we sacrifice…”