Sounds of bullets and bombs
Of curses, cries, and praises
Deafening and welcome silence
The calm before the storm
Weary soldiers see God in the details
See death and human entrails
Minds are tortured
Or worse, minds go numb
Desert fevers and desert heat
Or, biting cold and piles of snow
Give soldiers cold, sweaty nights at home
Their dreams give way to nightmarish images
The demons of the mind
The enemy within
Some say war is hell
But hell hath not held the widow's hand
Hell hath not held the fallen comrade
Hell hath not held the fatherless child
Hell hath not held the motherless child
Holding and comforting the mournful:
That job is left to the soldier
While holding his hell inside
