The Silent Soldier

There he stood alone and cold in the dark bare streets Dressed in rags from hand me downs, & carrier bags on his feet The hustle of the daily grind constantly passes by But still he stands & never speaks, or even bats an eye No-one noticing where he stands or even who he is! This young homeless soldier now back from war & living on the street Ten years ago it was different when he left to go to war Just a boy of 18 was he, when he left his homely shore A proud mother waved her son goodbye with tears of pride & pain Not knowing when she will ever see her child, her son again With pride he saluted his country's flag as he ran with guns & knives Knowing by the end of the day he would have started taking lives He saw the death around him, the faces etched in fear But still he had to shoot that gun until he was given the all clear The images stayed inside his head for years & years to come The memories of having to shoot little kids that were using loaded guns They haunted him all through the day even when he closed his eyes The sights & the sounds, that were left behind made him unable to live his life The boys they couldn't help him, he was seen as damaged goods Kicked from the only life he knew cos his hands could no longer shoot The life in civvy street was hard, the rules of the game had changed No orders, no friends, no arms, no men his days were not the same The normal life just didn't compare to the life he had to serve His team became just him alone, his orders left unheard So from the place he stayed, he left & went to that homely shore No mum to wave him off this time, no fleet to sail anymore So rocks in carrier bags he filled, & tied them to his feet Then walked they way his boat had sailed, when he had first joined the fleet Nobody even missed him, as he walked into that sea Returning to the life he knew, the deaths, the war, the team So now on a lonely street he stands, this statue so proud and tall A silent cold stone soldier representing the men that died for us all