One brave young soldier
Drifts off to sleep late at night
But as he’s resting peacefully
A vision appears in his sight

His eyes filled with terror
Body covered in sweat
From a recurring mind game
He longs to forget

He tries to rise
From his soaking wet bed
But he’s frozen in fear
From the mind games being played in his head

Every night is the same
Mind games the same as before
He needs to sleep but not tonight
He cannot take much more

Sleep deprivation takes toll on his body
He’s restless, forgetful and tired
Mood swings and flashbacks are common place
He’s constantly twitchy and wired

His mind games don’t just happen at night
They occur at all times of the day
Without warning the mind games begin
Like a recording on constant play

He can turn a corner whilst out on the street
And his mind games will hit him in vane
As he’s transported back through time and space
To re-live a memory again

The street is now a battlefield
Where he and his brothers fought before
A battle he knows he will never forget
Has come back to haunt him once more

Bullets are coming from everywhere
His section are pinned to the ground
Scared but determined to fight it out
They hear an all too familiar sound

An RPG aimed right at their sides
Explodes with a deafening blast
Then as if in slow motion the battlefield is gone
And the mind game is over at last

He’s dripping with sweat
He looks like hell
But all he can do
Is just stand there and yell

When he closes his eyes all he can see
Are the faces of his brothers who died
He was the only one not to be killed
He can’t help it he breaks down and cries

Why, why was he the only one?
Whose life was spared that day
Why did his brothers have to die?
In that land so far away

Those brave young soldiers just like him
Now no longer part of his life
All he has are his memories
And mind games that cut like a knife

But who can he talk to
About the visions he sees
The ongoing mind games
Which continually tease?

He needs someone to understand
Just what he had to face
Whilst serving along side his brothers in arms
In that terrible hell of a place

Sadly this soldier is not alone
For so many they suffer like him
Continual visions of memories gone by
Their minds playing games deep within

Let’s hope and pray that someday soon
These mind games they have will cease
Then all these brave soldiers who’ve suffered so much
Will finally find some peace

God Bless them all