Best Military Poems
~Homeless~
A lost guardian angel, sitting on the edge of everything
I push my shopping cart along the cracks of destiny
My house sits on the corner of every mission street
My tin coffee cup feeds on caring heartbeats
My possession is the icon of war, six missing buttons
Navy and white my grandfathers 70-yr-old military tunic.
My Jacket- My blanket
My Jacket from which I am inseparable
My Jacket - represents the mobility of life
This Jacket is my home.
I signed a contract with the state
to use my body as they will.
My mind they did manipulate.
In the name of freedom, I would kill.
I never questioned right or wrong.
Obeyed all orders without thought.
I strove to be Army strong.
My loyalty and heart were bought.
The flag I served flew overhead.
My uniform bespoke my pride.
A true soldier born and bred,
I marched on while others died.
As time went on, before my eyes,
I saw a different point of view.
I prayed to God my soul baptize,
wash clean my sins, be born anew.
I threw down my master's glove.
I left the life of blood and sword.
My orders still come from above,
but now I serve the Lord.
July 5, 2015
I want to swim in the golden rivers
of your heavenly haven,
wading through every swirl and twirl flowing in splendiferous streams.
Taste of your warmth courses down ruffles within my ribs,
pulsating your name in assonant motions.
In your moonlit eyes I’ve found the lost poem,
missing from my once hollow heart.
You are the metaphorical master,
with a plethora of poetic keys,
deciphering hieroglyphics syllables,
ceaselessly obscuring vehement vanity,
endured through violent torrents of torment.
In your arms I found a euphonious sanctuary,
calming stormy edges from a malignant abyss,
there I saw grey on silvery nights,
until you breathed poetry into my fingertips.
Words began to bloom amongst
deep ruby wine dahlias,
where seasons never wilt internal imagination.
I still remember the night we embraced a new year,
as fireworks lit up the highest mountains between us.
Revealing incandescent morning stars,
with your infectious smile,
I knew then, you were the acrylic home
I was sketching on sunflower panoramas.
In your voice I've already seen spring,
sowing seeds of hibiscus promises,
hydrating delicate dreams—
drifting with withering ferns and flowers,
imprinted from roots of fate,
ascending mauve memories to cloud nine,
where clipped feathers attain nirvana,
to love until the sun burns into ashes.
I was a Soldier
I was a soldier many years ago,
How time flies, where did it go.
To many places I was deployed,
Never too long before I was sent,
To fix things electrical was my bent.
I saw no action, that's how it was to be.
No matter where I was,no medals for me
I signed up to serve, wherever I was sent.
Invalided out, from FARELF I came,
No hero's welcome, just a whole lot of pain.
Didn't want Civvy life, thought it was a drag.
I guess it had the edge on a body bag.
I see guys coming home, leaving limbs behind,
A struggle to get help for their case do they find.
I see a disgrace on this government today,
They sent our best to fight in lands far away.
Our young fought and died in some foreign affray,
When you see them homeless,out on the street,
Let your heart go out to them as you hear them cry.
Because there but for fortune, go you or go I.
© Dave Timperley May 2016
Fallen--- face down in the dirt,
your pale lips kissed the earth
a marker will hold your place
though the world may forget your face
For you it's over...
Remember when she said
come back--- and then we'll Wed
as the nightbirds begin to sing
she holds your wedding ring
with trembling hands...
As your flame begins to dim
soon you'll reach the end
when your spark of life has fled
you'll be counted among the dead
For you it's over...
Family trees
were meant blossom
now your spot is but a token
as your lines forever broken
For you it's over now...
Your eyes will never see
the pain--- the misery
as darkness--- invades the minds
of those you've left behind...
For them--- it's just begun...
Marquees are bright with neon lights, where crowds line up for movie night
Holding hands, we're in 'The Strand'. The velvet carpet guides us in
Popcorn smokes, .. we're drinking cokes,... and cracking jokes with Bing and Hope
Lamour's along with more sarongs,... , her luscious lips, and cigarettes,
She fills ashtrays with smoking tips, and tosses guys like poker chips
'Movietone' intrudes with news, and soon we're in somber mood
Third-Reich goosesteps march again, ... an evil presence in the wind...
Cary Grant , (a news reporter), loves his girl, and his typewriter
"His Girl Friday", plot is witty, sometimes crazy. But Cary loves this ditzy lady....
William Powell and Mryna Loy..., Asta barks, and finds a toy, ...a ploy? a clue?,....
...an earring gold. The mystery is clearly solved.-- A crimson sun, is rising cold!
Movietone in black and white,... graphic scenes, where soldiers die
Another night, suspense on chart. 'Correspondent' , Joel McCrea.
Saves Lorraine, and claims the Day. BUY WAR BONDs !! They'll pave the way
Bogart, Bergman bring to light, a valiant flght , within their grasp
Airline ticket, in her hand, they must part, and do what's right, no questions asked
----
It's movie night, but you aren't here, a troopship took you far from here
Allied troops are moving tanks. I wait for you..God give me strength
I'm in the Strand, within the dark, there's no one here to hold my hand
I'm all alone...........I heard the news....................You left it all in Anzio
_____________________________________
For Contest Chopped III Sponsored by Craig Cornish
11/23/14
On the twenty fourth of February in twenty twenty two
Russia invaded Ukraine and fierce fighting did ensue
Vladimir Putin it seems, wants to restore the iron curtain
And sadly he will succeed, of that it looks certain.
Tanks and missiles, the Russians used in their attack
But against Putins thugs, brave Ukrainians are fighting back
Vladimir Putin is unhinged and he Is losing his sanity
Claiming the Ukraine is a threat, to Russian security.
He's made threats to the west, if they come to Ukraines aid
Does he honestly think that western powers are afraid
Unfortunately the Ukraine is not part of the Nato alliance
So the west introduced, heavy sanctions in defiance.
Hitting Russia with severe sanctions seems like a good idea
But it failed to stop Russian aggression, when they invaded Crimea
A lot more needs to be done though before it's too late
Or the Ukrainian people will suffer, an unspeakable fate.
The Ukrainian president has sent out a rallying cry
Ukrainians are bearing arms, and are prepared to die
The death toll will rise with casualties on either side
People are running to find safety but there's no where to hide.
Putin claimed only military targets, would be in the line of fire
But civilian apartments have been hit, Putin is a liar
There has been many deaths, some badly injured too
But they will fight to the last man, it's what they will do.
Acts of bravery the Ukrainians will always remember
Like the guards on Snake Island who refused to surrender
The Russian warship fired missiles, all thirteen men died
To me that is a war crime; those responsible should be tried.
The old days are over, the Soviet Union is long dead
Why can't Vladimir Putin get that fact in his head
Invading peaceful countries is an abominable crime
He should be charged with murder and put away for a long time.
Written 25th February 2022
I drank myself numb
to hide the pain—
the things I saw,
the voices I heard
when the world went quiet.
The bottle never judged me.
It just blurred the edges.
Made the flashes softer,
the guilt quieter,
the ghosts… not gone,
but easier to sit with.
But your past always catches up.
You can’t outdrink memory forever.
Steel on my wrists.
Bars I fell behind.
Not a hero.
Just a man
running from himself
with nowhere left to go.
Addiction turned to darkness—
the kind that sits in your chest
and convinces you
you’re too broken to come back.
Broken without all the pieces.
Some are buried.
Some I gave away.
Some I watched die with men braver than me.
The weight of guilt
crushing down like armor I can’t take off.
I carry their names like shrapnel.
I wear their memory like scars.
An empty life
without my brothers.
Most days I fake the smile.
Some days I can’t.
And if you ever see me cry
when I look at the flag—
don’t ask why.
Just know
I remember what it cost.
I live in hell most nights,
so others can have dreams.
Let ‘em sleep, let ‘em laugh—
I’ll carry the screams.
The memories turned to nightmares
that now invade the day.
I close my eyes
and still see it all.
I have no peace…
Just the peace I protected.
And that’s what I gave—
Even if it cost me everything.
On my face, you’d never know…
but the devil invites me home at every turn.
The quiet never comes…
but neither does surrender.
Eleven months without physical harm
is a blessing she cradles in her arms.
One more month remains of living unchained.
Soon life might lose the dread that threads alarm.
As his time serving overseas dwindles,
her coerced endurance holds less kindle.
Her thought onslaught is worry fraught and serves
images that swell in her heart and nerves.
She lives aware that one second can swerve
a life into despair no one deserves.
He might die or be maimed at the finish line.
In her mind, September is a landmine.
Fears make wishes to become unaware,
be numb to thirty more days of warfare.
She knows as a premature lamenter,
she wants sleep until the end of September.
A people persecuted beyond imagination;
To help them he felt, was his obligation.
He joined the army in World War II;
Not knowing his hell would be Eyes of Blue.
When he reached Normandy, the beaches were red.
Crawling over his brothers who lay already dead.
To give this tyrant, this devil his due;
Not knowing his own demons, would be Eyes of Blue.
He rounded a building securing a town;
A young German soldier was just coming round.
He plunged his bayonet, the quicker of the two;
Killing the young soldier, with Eyes of Blue.
He knelt down beside him with tears in his eyes;
How long this moment would last, he did not realize.
He closed the eyes as he thought he should do;
Thinking never again to see those Eyes of Blue.
The victor over many in Germany and Japan;
It was always difficult taking life from a man.
None would haunt him, this he now knew;
As long as the soldier, with Eyes of Blue.
He died an old man, to heaven he went;
For this honorable soldier, mercy was sent.
First time since the war, so sad but true;
A peaceful sleep, not seeing Eyes of Blue.
Heroes of my age in their morning mourn,
Filled with teardrops of pain and sorrow,
They'll be now part of the epic history,
But the cloudiness of who ones's fault still remains a doubt for justice,
When all lies in secrecy,
Can we blame peace and harmony?
Where we are all thirsty.
The masters of war behind the walls,
Safe and sound from the bullets of death,
The heroes in order and duty,
When guns can't do anything for victory,
When bullets can't do anything for survival,
They hide behind the seeds, behind the prayers
Behind the first fallen hero.
They, who are grabby for one's life, for one's blood,
Thirsty for distraction of one's covenant,
They, who pulled the trigger, who ought killing is a game,
Shooting one's body as if a little toy,
Like the Trojan war of old, was trapped and deceived.
Will their consciences arrest them?
Will forgiveness forgives them?
When they will die?
In service, for security the heroes died,
To sacrifice one's life in the name of duty,
A peace we wish is a peace they're yearning?
Or an inside job for another piece of power?
Who knows, we only care
But the Man can see them behind their masks,
Through their eyes, inside their brains.
The agony and heartaches they leave behind,
The scars that'll bleed for justice and life,
For the woman of love, alone in coldest times,
Somehow tears may dry by the aging of time.
For the cries of baby longing for daddy,
Searching for brawny arms that will lift them,
The baritone voice that will laugh with them.
Now change of path, life will never be the same,
The light will also be now the wall.
All will pass, all will calm like an ocean after the storm,
But justice still pursuits justice, must not hide from another demise,
Will give them the truth? Will the lives be not wasted?
Afraid for this will be one of the unresolved cases,
Repeats the failure of my Country,
Their coffins, their graveyards, in memoirs for the heroes
Once the stewards of us, once the fathers of Country
Worthy of prayers -for them, for families and for justice.
We salute the Fallen!
I cannot presume
To tell anyone
What a warrior is.
Nor do I claim
To embody any
Of his qualities.
All I offer here
Is a collection
Of impressions
Or meditations.
A warrior is
A state of being;
Armaments
Are mere props.
The only weapon
He might possess
Is implacable resolve
In the face of
Extreme adversity.
A warrior's language
Or internal dialogue
Has no allowance
For the phrase,
"I can't."
All the same,
He discriminates
Between causes
That are just and
Those that are not.
He determines the
Character, as well as
The time and place
Of his battles,
Investing himself utterly.
And he remains
Ever prepared
For those who would
Bring their battles
To him.
Yet a warrior meets life
On its own terms
With no delusions
Of bending it
To his own will.
Self-pity is a
Useless indulgence,
Yet he has compassion
For the weak; he never
Places himself above
Others, for how can he?
All this being said,
And human nature
Being what it is,
His greatest enemy
May yet be none other
Than himself.
I was a soldier of the past
And I know im not the last
I signed up to serve my Queen
Far off lands I have seen
As that soldier I done my best
Losing friends laying them to rest
We fought for what was only right
Giving freedom to others at night
As bullets flew and bombs exploded
My thoughts and mind just imploded
I could not say I wasn't scared
But my vision was not impaired
The smell of cordite all around
Waiting for the alarm to sound
Then the order of stand fast
Hoping this attack would not last
They come at us with all they have
Rpgs and a Gustav
We hold firm and do not falter
It's not our turn at the alter
Be brave young man I have to shout
As the young man does scream out
I've been hit this is bad
I wish I was with my mum and dad
It's ok you will be fine
It's a promise that is mine
The bombardment ends and we look up
Let's sort this out my young pup
Gingerly we give first aid
That is why we get paid
We stretcher him out to the heli pad
In a few days he's with mum and dad
After a while I go to see
That young soldier who layed before me
He's up and about and full of cheer
Winks at me we go for a beer
For those guys that didn't survive
We raise a glass cuddle and cry
For all the new guys on your career
Wish you well I got your ear.
A boy just turned eighteen was
sent to the Vietnam War.
And as a lamb among wolves
he didn't know what lay in store.
When it came to kill or die,
he showed himself to be brave.
Yet part of him died inside,
buried in a shell-shocked grave.
Forced to take a human life,
he got high on heroin.
And plugged his ears to the screams,
not sure they were genuine.
Having survived his nightmare,
he was sent home with his pain.
And the reception he got;
hurt him all over again.
Angry protesters cursed him,
there was no hero's parade.
And shamed by his countrymen,
he felt betrayed and afraid.
It's been over fifty years,
yet no one has thanked him still.
And he's accepted in his
heart that no one ever will.
I know I'm really tired
I just don't want to sleep
I guess I'm just really wired
Dreams will make me weep
I'm scared to see those things and sounds
Locked deep inside my brain
Make me sweat and wriggle around
Makes me think that I'm insane
Rational thinking is the cure
Its easier said than done
When your thoughts are so obscure
Rationality is to far gone
Stay awake with my relief
Is the action I shall do
My inner thought bare belief
Share them all with you
Anger resentment on oneself
Is a starter just for ten
Nice and calm me sat on the shelf
It's happening all too often
Guilt that burns within ones soul
Is hotter than volcano lava
Need to find the deepest hole
And cool it like a bottle of cava
Worthlessness is another one
But how can this be the case
For advice i give to everyone
But I can't keep up the pace
Failure is the biggest thing
It hits you like a rock
Needing help is so belittleing
You want to crawl into a sock
I could of said an obscenity
In that last verse of course
But this I say with sincerity
I will get back on my horse
These feelings now I've let out
Are because I'm so upset
So I write in form or shout
To be infront of the net
Glad to be on this mortal coil
Walk head high once again
Get sleep at night with no spoil
Black dog inflict no pain
Goodnight "sleepwell"