"The Battle Never Ends For Many" Poem by Gary Bernard

Chaos engulfs him
the noise silencing his mind
Unable to see
beyond the rubble of waste
Patience no longer a choice
His courage failing
and now feeling desperate
The face he now sees
looks up at him without eyes
He falls to his knees as tears
Leave tracks in the dirt
His helmet weighs down his head
With his hands trembling
the child cradled in his arms
still breathing her mouth whispers
Softly in his ear
Did I make it to heaven?
His throat catches as
the bile rises sickening
in its taste and he wretches
The smell like burning
flesh fills his lungs and chokes him
forcing him to stand
The child now suddenly limp
in his arms heavier than
His brain can fathom
Is this dead weight how it ends?
Life has to mean more
Bombs bursting in air fall
upon the innocent while
Generals argue
and politicians debate
The warriors trudge
on the journey as ordered
Thy will be done - no retreat
He walks in beauty
as the light of day becomes
the evil darkness
Arms aching from the carry
he sees a halo in the
Moon lit sky above
The closer he gets the more
he wants the myth to
be true and all will be well
Take this child so she can live
The halo is a
mirage of his sleep deprived
brain and blinding light
forces him to look away
A nurse steps into the dark
Looking in his eyes
she can see the fear of death
His hands now in knots
His trek was impossible
exhaustion forcing him to
Surrender his soul
now lost back on the battle
ground testing his faith
that humans are still humane
while death hovers high above
Sleep now wears him down
palm trees and gentle breezes
came in his dark dream
That face without eyes haunting
him now and forever more
Sent home he walks the
beach and stares into the eyes
of every child he
passes making parents fear
this broken Warrior