Wounded But Alive

[IDS]

A little boy of three
Happy as can be


Momma's pride and joy
Playing with his toy


Imaginary bullets fly thru the air
The little boy doesn't have a care


Sippy cup for a canteen
A fearless little Marine


Bullets don't hurt when they are pretend
War's not so bad when you choose when it ends








A soldier of twenty-three
Serving his country proudly


To the "Sandbox" he is deployed
His last days at home much enjoyed


But duty calls to a distant land
Freedom is making a valiant stand


Fighting continues though the war is won
As elements try to undo what is done


Death brushes by as shrapnel hits
His shoulder is suddenly torn to bits


Wounded but alive he holds onto life
He has a promise to keep to his wife


A little child needs his daddy
A mother wants her son home badly


This bloody price for liberty
Pain slams him down intensely


A wounded soldier lies on the ground
Helpless as his brothers gather round


First to protect and then to treat
Death this day suffers defeat








A purple heart covers his heart of gold
A loving family he will once again hold


A long recovery and rehabilitation
All for the freedom of the Iraqi nation


He made his sacrifice and paid the price
A little respect towards him would be nice


Honor the man if not the government
Set aside your rhetoric for just a moment


Soldiers are little boys in a deadly game
They are not the ones for this mess to blame








In the shadows a dark figure lurks
Upon his lips there is a cruel smirk


Religious zealots kill and maim
Each side the other one is to blame


Where there is no peace he is there
Unnoticed he goes about his deadly fare


Hatred and ignorance are deadly tools
Intolerance is the treasure of fools


Confusion reigns and nothing makes sense
Laughter comes eeriely from the darkness







Into this invisible war young men are sent
The living sacrifice of the innocent


Wounded spirits that need our care
Someone who quickly will "be there"


First to protect and then to treat
The balm of love is so sweet


Wounded spirits do not despise
Protect them from the enemy's lies


Treat with the love you received
Remember how you were once deceived


Wounded but alive we must save
For this life Jesus His life gave



.....peace.....

 

[Godsgirl481]

WOW...I like that soooo much. It made me cry. I saw a US solider get off a plane at the airport...he just came home from Irag...and had never laid eyes on his 10 month old son. I walked up to him and asked to shake his hand...and thanked him for fighting for our country. He shook my hand while tears trailed down his cheek...and all he could muster up throught the tears was a slight "thank you". My dad is a 'nam vet. He has never been the same since. I am only 23 so he has been that way all my life...but my older sisters tell me how he used to be. War can change a man's soul. I just pray that America never gets to the point of drafting again.

 

[Quixotic the Pedestrian]

I agree with your poem for the most part, however I was thrown off a few times...

" Honor the man if not the government
Set aside your rhetoric for just a moment"

I believe in honoring the man, and respecting the government, but I do believe it is our duty to stand against the war if we disagree with it. As I said in another thread I think our disattachment to our governments decisions is a travisty.


My uncle was also permenantly disabled from 'nam. Just last week we had to take him out of an assisted living environment and into a mental institution. He's 50 years old, and it's hard to think that his life was over back when he was about 30. Thats part of why I have such a disdain for war.. it highly bothered (and still does) our decision to enter war so quickly with Iraq. I'll retain my diatribe on the subject. I love the soldiers (on both sides) but hate the war.

 

[Godsgirl481]

My dad is 63...not normal but he is okay...living with his new wife...I ghave mixed feelings over war...and over Iraq. But the poem did explain some of the hardships and thoughts of a solider at battle. Lots of people put them down for defending the country...but don't understand what they have to face over there

 

[IDS]

This poem was written two weeks after finding out about a nephew getting wounded in Iraq. When my wife told me my first reaction was, "Now he is safe. He is wounded but alive."


The last time I talked to him he told me he was going to the "Sandbox". I guess that is what prompted the contrasting of a little boy of three and a soldier of twenty-three.


Just Thursday I found out that my nephew is back home for thirty days and then off to rehab. I am thankful that he is back home and did not make the trip in a box.


Now Quixotic you and Bam both mention relatives affected by Viet Nam. Too many returning Nam vets were not met with handshakes and respect but with disrespect and dishonor. That was inexcusable. It is okay to disagree with your government and its actions but it is wrong to disrespect a soldier for doing his duty. I wholeheartedly agree war is horrible. I disdain war. But not the men and women who fight the war. I really believe we are saying the same thing just from different perspectives. And I too will end my diatribe.


May GOD bless you Bam for your welcoming a soldier home. Soldiers are just little boys who want to go home.


satan lurks in the shadows. his handiwork is so evident in the whole Mideast thing. While everyone is pointing fingers he fans the flames.


There is another war raging. An invisible war.
For the freedom of a people living in darkness.
Young men and women of light go into this war with innocence. Many are hit. Many are wounded. What happens? Do we surround and protect? Or do we count them expendable? Or blame them? Do we protect and treat? Or do we shamefully retreat?
Do we shake the hand of those who fight in this invisible war and thank them? Or do we spit on them and accuse them?


Wounded but alive we must save
For this life Jesus His life gave


1 John 3:16 (the second most important verse in the bible) Hereby perceive we the love of GOD because He laid down His life for us and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.


.....peace.....

 

[Godsgirl481]

Yes....I am very proud of my father fighting in the war. He is not the nicest person but he did fight for the country when the country needed him.

 

[Quixotic the Pedestrian]

Speaking of, the healthcare for vets is horrid! My parents had to wait in the emergency room of the VA Mental hospital for 9 1/2 hours to check my uncle in. There were people there with heart problems and all sorts of things that were sitting and waiting, with no food except for the candy bar filled vending machine. I feel if we aren't prepared to take care of them then there is no reason for us to initialize something to send them off. It's sort of like telling a little kid to start extreme skiing without ever buying him health insurance.

 

[Godsgirl481]

yes....my dad gets all his diabetic supplies for free from the VA hospital...but the doctors are worse than the health department