The Lover, A Soldier prayer.

Soldier goes off to War. Need kind and sweet memories to keep them human.

                     The Lover (A soldier prayer)
 
Poor boys and men.
Roads lead to War.

 
Young woman with a  sweet smile.
Silk dress.
Smelling like sweet flowers.

 
Whisper,  "let's dance tonight.
You shall go to War."

 
"Tonight we need to create photos for the heart."

 
"Memories to keep you warm when you are lonely and afraid."

 
Young man brings the sweet Angel close.
Whisper kind words of love and thankfulness.

 
Soldier stand alone.
Cleans his M-16.
Death is all around him.

 
He closes his eyes.
He remembered.
The smell of flowers.
The feel of the silk dress.

 
The sweet smile of his love.

 
Keeps him human.

 
                  John Castellenas
                  4 April 2009
 
 
 

Author's Note

I stood alone on guard duty on the border of Iraq. Didn't think of War. I thought of beautiful faces and family.
Coyote

Reviews

[E. Leo Wells]

Do a little soldier poetry myself ...fought the demons and the devil, walked the trail and waded the rivers, ...you stuff is good, Soldier stand alone. Cleans his M-16. Death is all around him. nice verse, working on some new stuff ....keep writing and posting
E Wells KY

[Cryingkate]

Hope you made it home Dear Soldier E.Leo Wells ! I send you a Thank you for your service for all of us.
And I send A Song of hope with my tears that Mankind will someday overcome the war machine and live together in Peace.
May someday the only war we make is the war cry for Peace.

[The Old Ashes]

Incredible. I'm sending this link to some of my friends that serve.
It reminds me very very much of the stories I hear from one of my friends that served in Iraq.

[Dani California]

This is marvelous. Very emotional and the imagery is outstanding. I could feel the external coldness and the safe place, the softness and peace he created within. In closing his eyes, he could travel to another place and time in order to maintain sanity of some sort. Self preservation.

Well done!

[ebur™]

I loved this piece, purely because it was heart-warming and beautiful. Although it talked about war, it showed how he stayed human due to his home, his memories, his wife. Oh, and thank you for serving the country :) great poem too :)

[Maria Retz]

Oh, first now I saw that this was a real life experience you wrote about, this makes this poem even stronger.
Thank you for sharing this, I am sure it can help other men who have to go to war

[Maria Retz]

What a beautiful story in this poem. So sad.
I enjoyed the ending, because war changes man and if he doesn't remember normal things in life, he want be "human"

I think the two last stanzas should be as one verse instead of two verses with one line each, but that is all I can say about what could be changed. I like it the way it is now too

[beezle]

My best friend did 3 tours in Iraq and Afghanistan..all he has to share are horror stories...this was quite refreshing...you've spoken from a positive perspective on such a negative situation...I will never quite understand the true impact that war has on a soldier...I've never been there myself...but from all that i've heard...you have shed a whole different light on it with this peice. Thank you for sharing.

[Alisha Mark]

I don't know how I feel about this one. A little bit different style, I think, than I would like to see. Weird flow at the 5th "stanza" (that 5th standing line). Again with the ending of the 6th stanza. . . I feel like the flow is interrupted ("thankfulness") for some reason. Slight grammatical error ("he close his eyes") here.

I feel like you jump from a weird present to past tense when you bring in the line "He remembered." because it feels as though you're speaking of the above text to be a memory, but it's not welcomed as well as it could possibly be. . . so it's a bit misleading, I think?

I think it's got a great message, for sure. Especially since I've never experienced or known anyone who's experienced the war first hand.

[mystic soul]

war and smile... contradictory!! it indeed needs a lot of courage to be positive and smile in midst of bloodshed... U changed my views on soldiers.. I used to think about them as a heartless human.. thanks for showing this aspect of a soldier...

[Ophielia Nyx]

i was moved by this and im very thankful for the opportunity to read it
have a blessed christmas

[prjctREdiscovery]

All that keeps you sane in those situations. good poem