The Veteran
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is a steady concern as American soldiers return from foreign combat. No stranger to loss and grief, I wanted to bring attention to this problem, so I wrote The Veteran. Through an online song writing forum, FAWM.org (February Album Writing Month), I posted my words and musician Paul brought them to life by writing the music and performing it—a job well done. I hope this song in some small way eases the stress of those who have seen things so that we will never have to.
Words by Mark L Berry / Music by Paul
Performed by Paul
Special thanks to FAWM.org for bringing this song collaboration together
Paul performing The Veteran and Severed My Ties
The movie ends
I part with friends
I head back to my familiar street
And reheat leftovers to eat
I brush my teeth then wash my face
And look around my familiar place
The pictures hang upon the walls
In every room and down the halls
Old friends long gone since the war
I retreat to my room and close the door
It’s getting late so I close my eyes
But flashbacks come full of those other guys
They are gone and I am here
And they continue to whisper in my ear
New movies roll but they’re less fun
I’m back on patrol with my M-1
It’s been years since I carried a gun
But I still remember how it’s done
The flash comes first, followed by a deafening burst
We hope for the best but prepare for the worst
Our return fire follows; it’s the sound of Hell
And our hand-dug trench fills with a smoky gunpowder smell
Half awake, I call out half a dozen names
But no reply comes from those picture frames
Patches of green and black and tan
Blur the silhouette of every man
But fragging bombs don’t need to see
Nor do other forms of artillery
They cut indiscriminately into the night
While we try to aim and return the fight
In the morning light I’ll see
What I did to you and you tried to do to me
Silence seems to swallow the day
At least in contrast, it seems that way
The earth tones worn by so many dead
Reveal too many shades of red
The brightness of the blood that’s new
Drips over dry, flaking blood with a darker hue
Instead of my gun, I aim my lens
At those who once were my friends
I silently vow not to forget
And to this day I haven’t yet
But my alarm clock rings and I struggle to wake
I toss and turn, I shiver and shake
I’ll be late again and my boss will yell
He’s never had to live through Hell
I’m back in these United States
And I carry with me so many friends’ fates
My days are pretty normal now
It’s the nights I have to survive somehow
Words by Mark L. Berry and Music by Paul Otteson
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for me, the last 6 lines are brilliantly touching and perfect. cheers
— Bradley Carvette Friday, February 06, 2009 #