Time To Release

When boys take arms to protect and serve They only think about, can I make the curve The cause is just but, do I have the nerve, hearing all the veterans talk and I observe They speak of pride and honor, doing what's right and I ask them "how many did you kill in that fight" Then, as a silence takes hold of all the noise, these men stare in silence, like long lost boys They say "war is a hell, where good men die" and behind hollow stares, some of them cry He was a Hero, they say speaking of a friend knowing he had their back to the bitter end. Know he sits all alone in a crowded bar, drinking to forget, staring at a bronze star Promises that he made to men in graves, flow in all his thoughts, like endless waves Why was I the one that survived that day, they had wives and children to watch at play I'm home now, with all pieces of me in disarray 42 years, since I kissed the ground in the USA no star to show but, in pieces like their friend I carry promises made, as I try to make amends I think, with all of life's burdens, it's OK if I drown God says, "I'll take all burdens, just put them down"