I wish you could understand
The reasons that I do this
The reason I am leaving for this land
I stand not for the uniform
Or even for our country
But to ensure we have peace
For generations to come

I know you cannot see my heart
And all its wonderings
Of why I’m doing the right thing
And I know I am

Death is not the worry
That makes my heart so heavy
But how you will be after I am gone
For it is those we leave behind
Who suffer in the darkness
And wonder if we were alone
When angels call

A mother waits in hope
That her son will return to her
And be her child once more
And then the footsteps fall
Outside the door the whispers
And she knows death has come to call

Others stand in apprehension
At the airport or the station
And await the face they stroked to sleep when small
And there before them stands a man in tatters
And she knows he needs her comfort once again

So let not the veil of lack of understanding
Fall across your eyes when war is waged
For each heart must open to the valiant
Who fought and gave their lives
In so many ways