Lone Soldier

I sit in a dark corner,
Of a lighted medical tent,
Gunfire, shouting and death have etched themselves into my mind.
My leg drenched in dark crimson blood
Dripping from my wound
Where barb wire carved my skin
Like a careless wood carver not caring about the result.
The gloomy daybreak sky as red as the blood from my wound.
I relive my Mother's last words over and over in my head
As if it were yesterday.
Dreaming of the day I can go back to her,
Back home, away from the chaos
Of my fellow soldiers, friends and brothers
Getting shot down before my eyes.
I regret leaving her, to fend for herself.
I am all she has,
But I was summoned to fight,
For freedom, for pride,
For my Mother.
And now, I can't imagine
What she is going through
The pain, the dread, the unknown.
The sacrifices she is making,
Are those that no one should have to go through,
Saying good-bye to a father, a husband, a brother or a son,
Perhaps forever.
Leaving everything she knows
To work in a factory
With other women,
Who also have had to say
Good-bye.