Men and women go to war
To fight another lands cause
Sent by those who have never been
Those who can’t imagine
The things these soldiers see or do

Bullets fly, bombs fall, Star-shell’s flare
Novices cautioned for peering over the parapet
Beyond the wire, stained with blood to rust, into No Man’s Land.
Soldiers die, children cry, still they have to be strong,
Have to carry on, as if nothing is wrong

The soldiers – mothers, wives, fathers and sons,
Don’t always miss the bullets fired at them
Soldiers sent home injured or dead
Only to find no support for the broken
Never to be the same person they were before.

Bugler playing, tears streaming
Soldiers stand tall and straight,
Wounded inside and out
Feel the pain, loneliness, loss of hope,
Sharing the same nightmares –
Day and night
Yet another comrade
Laid to rest.