They wanted a man <br />made from steel <br />or titanium would have <br />suited much better, <br />unfortunately I am <br />of flesh and bone and blood <br />and have a heart for peace <br />and could not become <br />a mere killing machine. <br /> <br />We marched up <br />and down the hill <br />and up again <br />and for nobody it was a thrill <br />and drove across the border <br />and came back <br />and some were wounded, <br />crippled, blind and dead <br />and those alive <br />were much different <br />from who they were before. <br /> <br />I wanted them to leave me <br />in peace, <br />but they still <br />kept calling me <br />for another stint and some more <br />and there was no way out <br />and suddenly it all changed <br />and although we won <br />all the battles and the war <br />we lost it all <br />and lost much more <br />from ourselves <br />and the sacrifices <br />did not matter.<br /><br />Gert Strydom<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/the-army-5/
