I Fought For You

The men march on ceaselessly into battle;
Rifles strapped,
Boots cleaned meticulously,
Trained for the unknown war.

The ship's sails shine on the horizon,
Full of wind.
Decks swabbed clean,
Sailors ready for the sea and her torment.
But they were not ready
For the hell that came.

The men became bloodied over time,
Dropping to their knees in the mud,
Their bodies becoming limp,
Sinking into their inevitable doom.
The men breathlessly watch their brothers in arms
Fall mercilessly.
Some cried out,
Some made no noise.
All sinking into a consuming darkness
While the night took over the land.

The ships faced her wrath courageously but broken.
The sails tore and
The bough snapped
Like the bones of an old dog.
Water overcame the deck
and lightning struck the mast.
Bodies littered the water,
Blue became red
Until all there was was black.
Sails ripped,
Souls tore.

The soldiers felt the heaviness of the sea.
Waiting desperately for back-up.
Lost in the waters.
Lost to the waves.
Lost to the breeze.
Lost was the fight.
The sailors no longer wished to be saved.
The salt water ran down their face
Pouring from hallow eyes
and hollow skies.

The soldiers could not finish the sailor's war.
Their beaten vessels floated on
As the ripped sails fell,
Finally,
Into the depths of what was.
The sailors gave up,
And took the soul in the soldiers with them.

The last rifle slipped from the hand
Of a hopeless soldier
As he watched his distant friends
Drown in the wake
Of their own silence.

The remaining
Remained with holes in their chests
And a longing in their hearts
For the death of brethren
That trued to save what could not be saved.
A longing for who could not be saved.
For the want of a final resting place
To be that of the sailors.
Wrapped in a shroud of torn sail
And storm of words,
"we tried."

The sun set on a losing battle;
On the eyes of those ever to see the sun again,
And on the waiting eyes of soldiers,
Who hope to see the sun once more.
Their water ridden friends
A reminder of what could be,
And what they'll see in the end
When the last helmet
Hits the ground.

This poem is about: 
Me
My family
Our world

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