Afghanistan

By smokejack

Mon, 10 Aug 2009
  • 1127 reads
4 comments
 

Afghanistan

We are not soldiers in name alone
We are not made of steel
We are not pins on a military map
And the bullets are as real

As the blood we lose

We are not allowed to ask questions
We accept and obey
So we’ll just wonder why we are here
And try not to get carried away

Lifeless for a pointless cause

There is an unlimited supply of us
We are easy to recruit
A chance of a job with security
And a short life to boot

A single to somewhere hot please?

A government that won’t admit
That the reason to fight is unclear
A Whitehall office and expenses
Are a million miles from fear

Like ministers’ children and selected careers

The enemy play hide and seek
We drive tanks that stall
We have weapons of poor construction
And weep as colleagues fall

A long way from home

SJ©2009

Certificate U
Story
Autobiography

Comments

Submitted by threeleafshamrock on
Very good; strong and angry viewpoint from the inside. I like this one. Chris ;)

Submitted by Beeme on
I think this is a very honest and thought provoking poem, Smokejack. Like Chris said a strong and angry viewpoint from the inside. Well done. This is a very good poem, which I enjoyed a lot. I think the layout works really well. I look forward to reading more of your work :-) I particularly enjoyed these parts; 'We are not soldiers in name alone We are not made of steel We are not pins on a military map And the bullets are as real.' 'As the blood we lose.' Beeme xx

k.

Submitted by smokejack on
'the world would be a better place if the parents had to eat the sprouts' Thank you both for your very kind comments. Feedback good or bad is so valuable and it's very flattering to have positive comments. Much appreciated. SJ

Submitted by scoot on
my favourite part was We drive tanks that stall We have weapons of poor construction And weep as colleagues fall A long way from home i just finished watching waltz with bashir...so this poem really struck a chord with me. About how soldiers are very vulnerable. My initial response was "no one made you choose to be a soldier", but then immediately I read "we are easy to recruit...a chance of a job with security" and understood. thanks for your insightful poem. Karen