The Army Poem by Gert Strydom

They wanted a man
made from steel
or titanium would have
suited much better,
unfortunately I am
of flesh and bone and blood
and have a heart for peace
and could not become
a mere killing machine.

We marched up
and down the hill
and up again
and for nobody it was a thrill
and drove across the border
and came back
and some were wounded,
crippled, blind and dead
and those alive
were much different
from who they were before.

I wanted them to leave me
in peace,
but they still
kept calling me
for another stint and some more
and there was no way out
and suddenly it all changed
and although we won
all the battles and the war
we lost it all
and lost much more
from ourselves
and the sacrifices
did not matter.