The Subtleties Of War Poem by Animosity Drowning

He told me what happened when he was in the desert
He told me that he watched a little boy run in front of a tank
That little boy... I have a little boy...
His mother ran to save him, but it was too late.
I don't believe in the subtleties of war.
There is no such thing.
He told me what happened when his friend was shot.
He told me that he watched him slump into his seat.
Blood matting in his hair...
He wanted to save him, but it was too late.
He didn't cry.
He would whimper in his sleep.. I would stroke his hair...
I tried to wake him once..
He threw me down and pinned me to the floor...
Before he realized it was me.
He said he used to go on firewatch in the forests near Baghdad
He went by himself.
He is not dead.
But his soul is dead.
I don't believe in the subtleties of war.
At times I don't believe freedom cannot be gained
among those who do not know what freedom is.
I am selfish for this.
But when I hear him screaming in his sleep...
I know it is wrong,
I know he is hurting...
I do not believe in war.