A Soldier's Death (Funeral March)

Commemorating December 31, 2004

Here lies a man who once stood tall
who was both brave and true
When he was young
there was a war
and war was all he knew

He fought his evil master’s war
as if it were his own
When through his head the bullet went
he suffered all alone

No sooner had his blindfold gone
and hope was just in sight
than in the yard the bugle called
They sent him back to fight

On and on the armies march
they slaughter and they die
When shrapnel tears his leg apart
for mother he does cry

The war was lost
but deep inside
the prison of his mind
a battle raged of pain and pride
and peace he could not find

The years went by
he found his love
but heavy was his share
of terror from the battlefields
which he passed on to her

His love was burdened with a weight
he could not push away
The wounds of war
they would not heal
The pain was there to stay

And yet they shared some forty years
his burdened love and he
So when his dying hour came
by his side she would be

Now as we start your final march
behind you I will stay
And through your eyes I'm bound to see
the ghosts along your way

Your comrades all stand to your left
From gaping wounds they bleed
The fallen men you did command
and to their graves did lead

And to your right the enemies’ ranks
There isn’t much they do
Their widows all stand silently
as do their orphans too

Farewell
farewell
old soldier mine
oh Captain of my fear
May peace be with you where you are
I'll hold your memory dear

---

Author’s note: Although this is a very personal text, I didn’t want to make it all about the person. It is also about those who lived with him, and about the generations forever crippled by war. Whoever thinks that war can bring a simple solution to any conflict in the world, think again. The outcome of what you unleash or help sustain might affect you and your loved ones longer and in more hurtful ways than you ever imagined.