Our resident poet Jason reflects upon the death of another of our soldiers in Afganistan which many (including us) believe is a pointless and certainly un-winnable war. Patriotism doesn’t mean slavishly supporting a war just because it is carried out under our name. Reflect upon whether the Government is justified in risking these young lives?

A news item of a soldier’s body arriving back from Afghanistan triggered this poem which explores the various emotional introspection’s of a professional soldier on the night before his departure to the battle front.

Soldiers are brave yet the thought of having to leave his loved ones (here his wife) may create doubts in the mind of a soldier, as after all, he is human too.

Poem is a discourse on the mind of a solder “The Night Before” his journey to the battle front.
Hope it aptly expose the melancholy behind a soldier’s life.

I AM NOT GLORIFYING WARS, ONLY TRYING TO GRASP SOME OF THE SEVERAL EMOTIONAL STRANDS BEHIND WARS.

Hope it justifies its own poetical existence.

Jason

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The Night Before ……

Neither am I a passionate patriot
Nor am I a knee-jerk coward
Morrow I am to head to the front
Where the destiny will decide the fore word
To my life

Here I lie next to the woman I love
Sleep embrace me not while my soul
Drooled on the events to unfurl
Once I leave the woman I adore

The flag I honour wearily flutter
In the windswept vast space
Posting an invite to the death laden gutter
To live or fall in the name of peace

Dichotomies plenty buried in fear
Fear not I the enemy or the death
Fear I do the morrows for the one I love dear
For country and family, hope destiny spare my breath

Seconds edge away, I wish I could delay
Them ticking away; my hand softly I lay
On the forehead of my darling wife
To wake in the dawn to the call of fife

Gently I rise to east-lit light rays
Today I leave to the front to stray
Into the battle field to fight with dignity
For the land and woman I love dear for eternity

Jason

© All rights reserved. Requests for permission to reproduce or translate-whether for sale or non-commercial distribution, should be addressed to Jason @ e-mail jason_jesuthasan@yahoo.com.