War

The sky is dark,

Thunder rumbles,

A black coffin,

Open wide,

A young boy,

Sleeps inside,

He is only 18,

And scared,

A slash mark,

On his pale cheek,

Blue eyes are shut,

In eternal rest,

A diamond ring,

Glistens on his love’s left finger,

Tears stream down her cheeks,

All of their dreams,

Lie there in the coffin,

Dead,

And gone,

His mother holds his love's hand,

She places a flower on his folded hands,

The boy she raised,

Held,

Healed,

Protected,

Loved,

Carried,

Has faded from her,

Those blue eyes will never open,

Never smile again,

The boy’s father,

Stares at his son’s face,

A single tear falls from his cheek,

But he is proud,

To be the father of a strong,

Brave young man,

Who died,

Died to protect his love,

His family,

Their freedom,

For his little brother,

Who cries,

By his big brother’s side,

The man who taught him to hold a gun,

Throw a ball,

Treat a girl,

Has gone from him,

But he salutes his brother’s body,

And stands tall,

Those blue eyes will never open,

But only in heaven,

Where he can watch over his loved ones,

The ones he left behind.