These poems were first published at Bring Them Home Now, an anti-war group established by and composed of military families, service members, and veterans.

July 25, 2004

"7.62 Millimeter"

I never knew the man I killed
on that Arabian summer day.
I never knew the pain he felt
as his life had slipped away.
I never knew his children lost
by bullets aimed astray.
I never saw his crying wife
when she heard the news that day.
I never knew the vows he swore
or the god to whom he prayed.
His promise to avenge beloved victims
of foreign evils who wished to stay.
I will never forget the eternal tragedy
of that man's final day.
When he ran across the alley shooting
what decisions could I make?
He shot at me, he chose to die.
No glory for the brave.
I chose to live, I pulled the trigger.
The filthy gutter was his grave.
In every war people die.
War is hell they say.
But they didn't know the man I killed
like I knew him that day.
If I could have met the man I killed
before I took his life away,
I would have told him I wish we could have met
another time, another place.

[Name withheld]
Iraq

posted 28 july 2004

July 22, 2004

"Accidental Terrorist"

Enlisted in the ranks under king George II
Trained as a peace keeper but terror is my weapon
Superior tech-threat the enemy cowers
In mud huts and holy towers
Watching CNN with xenophobic fear
Mecca's bought on Wall Street as proud imperialists
cheer
Who want's to marry a millionaire on real world
Baghdad
There will be no Ramadan this year

I'm a mercenary that kills for college tuition
A time honored family tradition
The floatation device for the working class man
Trade a picket fence for blood soaked sand
I'll learn to hate the Arab face
Like a taint among the human race
Prejudice claims another soul
At the end of a bullets trace

Hitler reborn in a bigot's cause
The SS rally under Patriot laws
Media scandal, vote Nazi for four more
Write a check to the Federal Reserve and celebrate the
spread of war
Ignore education, the environment and the national
debt
It's Super bowl time, plug in to the TV set
While I waste my time, my tears, my life
As my words never leave the internet

[Troop name withheld] Iraq

posted 23