The Thirty Eighth Parallel

Standing on a riverbank,
He looked at his reflection.
And what he saw staring back,
Escaped his recollection.

The eyes caught him by surprise,
Like gazing at empty space.
For his eyes had seen too much,
Since arriving in that place.

The boy he once was is gone,
A casualty of that hell.
He was lost somewhere across,
The thirty eighth parallel.

They had battled back and fourth,
'Cross that unforgiving line.
So many soldiers fallen,
Some had to be left behind.

We stopped them at Bloody Ridge,
Though our loss of life was great.
More were killed at Heartbreak Ridge,
Because Byers couldn't wait.

They called it a fiasco,
So many warriors dead,
We took the ridge, not knowing,
Triangle Hill lay ahead.

It was no place for children,
Innocence could not survive.
Those who held on to such things,
Did not make it home alive.

The soldiers who did return,
Were never completely whole.
None could go where they had gone,
Without damaging the soul.

They left a part of themselves,
In Korea where they fell.
Innocence was lost across
The thirty eighth parallel.