an innocent warrior

you were young and proud of your uniform
in your heart you believed in the cause
fervently delivered by your country’s leaders
words wrapped in passion and airs of truth
with pride and dignity you went off to war

without question, fearlessly you obeyed orders
dutifully to kill and maim and lay to waste
every suspected enemy you encountered
you sent to their final resting place
or to the crushing horror of servility

you moved up in rank and pomp and circumstance
swiftly to grand position “General of the Armies”
your valor, your dedication and your true belief
carried you far from feeling oppressed
far from living the life of a poor country boy

to being the faithful right arm of the oppressor
they thought you were one with them
they welcomed you deep into their inner sanctum
and gave you a royal position behest in deceit
your innocence could not comprehend

no longer a puppet with bright shoulder stars
you had become a grand puppeteer
finely dressed in well tailored blue suits
giving you an air of being as voracious
as they are deep in their heart of hearts

they thought you knew they asked you to lie
they thought you lusted things of earth
with the same avarice and fervent passion
to which they had long since degenerated
and sold their souls for wealth and power

you believed they were honorable men
and though you doubted the shabby evidence
the lie you told sent legions of soldiers
and fury of the gods to besiege a distant nation
and change forever the nation you love so dearly

now, you sit with your inner eye open wide
with your belief and your heart shattered
isolated in the small space of consciousness
with memories of innocents you killed and maimed
soldiers, civilians, men, women, and children

because you never questioned hidden motives
of those who sent you off to war
because you never questioned
                                        hidden motives
                                        of those
                                        who sent
                                        you off
                                        to war