My Hero

(first and last line provided by Bradley Quick)

And no matter how much I tried, the blood dripped down…

Never ending beneath the sand,

Underneath the dust and debris of war,

Wallowing in the blood of brothers and enemies,

On the scorched earth, fighting for a life,

A promise… memories…

“Stay with me, John, stay with me!” Came the cry,

Above the screams and the gore,

It’s all I could say, all I could scream until my voice cracked,

Cried just as my heart,

For a fallen comrade, a fallen friend.

“Stay. With. Me!”

            I pushed at your wound, blood staining my hands,

So much pain, a bullet to the heart,

“You can’t leave me, leave Sally, your baby girl, and your son,

I promised them we’d go back together!”

But you didn’t listen, just grasped at my hands,

Couldn’t hear, couldn’t hear through the screams,

Couldn’t see me through the tears, your blood.

No, all you did was cry with regret,

Filthy nails digging into my flesh,

Screaming what you could have done,

Should have done…

Never did.

“I should have called her before we left,

Parted ways with words of love,

Held my daughter one more time,

Hugged my son before I died.”

Yet as you wept, the blood still poured… endless, unforgiving.

As you wept, the war grew silent… waiting, eager.

As you wept, I fought the tears,

Held you close to relinquish my fears,

“Brother, don’t do this to me!”

But you only gave a cry, managed a smile, and fluttered your eyes,

“I’m sor-sorry… I couldn’t be…”

I leaned closer, your voice falling to a whisper,

“That hero that you could always see.”

And with a laugh and a flash of a smile, you grasped my hand,

You held it to your cheek, and fluttered your eyes,

Then the earth ceased, the fields growing silent,

Your head dropped, yours eyes closing,

My hero was dying…

And no matter how much I tried, the blood dripped down.