Chasing the reaper,
I feel hes my keeper,
Taking me deeper still,
To kill the pain inside,
Riding within The Whole,
In a controlled slide,
Gliding along with Spirit,
I can hear it whisper,
This person,
A representation,
Of creations,
Best formation,
Testing the information,
Learning my relation to it all,
Falling over and over again,
My interrogation begins,
Inspired Action wins,
The Reaper spins around,
I found another fear,
And Tear after tear,
I steer through the dark,
My spark scares it away,
I live to light another Day
As the battalion races into battle
You can hear a Saber rattle
But as we charge with guns a blazing loud
He can be seen, leading the crowd
A Ghost on horseback brilliant white
In his suit of armor a scary sight
No one can believe their eyes it seems
He should only be seen in blood curdling dreams
But to us he is as real, as we are
Like us has traveled very far
Not in miles, but in time
Like a hero in a nursery rhyme
As we charge on and vanquish our foe
A thousand soldiers all in a row
He leads by example from the front
The cannon fire, he bears the brunt
Can the enemy see him we all think?
Or is it only us, and a curse of the drink
Imaginary or real boldly we wonder
We frightened soldiers in a politicians blunder
As the battle rages, he disappears as quickly as he came
And none of us even knew his name
Stay dangerous
Even when you are in pain
Stay sharp
Never retreat into darkness
Stay alert
Dont be caught off guard
Stay disciplined
Don’t succumb to weakness
Stay mysterious
Until time is right
Then fall like lighting
We warmed the bench with cold stares,
holding onto yesterday’s glass of champagne.
A boy cried somewhere,
loosening his grip on a balloon
that slipped into a sky that never looks back.
Should I pity a crying child,
or an adult swallowing storms in silence?
“I should go,” she said, and
I found my hand reaching for hers,
like a child clinging to his mother
as she nears the grocery counter too soon,
hoping time would stall,
hoping something small could still be saved.
But some things are no-brainers,
inevitable as gravity,
the balloon has flown,
belonging now to no one,
or maybe to everything but us.
The child stopped crying
when his mother placed a bar of chocolate
into his waiting hands.
And I envied him,
because how does a child receive sweetness after sorrow,
while an adult is handed a weapon
and told to be brave instead of held?
No chocolate, no comfort,
just something sharp enough
to silence the trembling.
I guess that’s why
I stand where I stand,
not as someone to be soothed,
but as someone to be used.
I guess
I really am
His favorite soldier.
Once upon his signet ring
a maxim true and wise,
Which, Gave him counsel,
for every change or chance:
'Even this shall pass away!'
II.
Trains through the sand
Brought gems
Fleets
Brought pearls
But Treasures wealth?
the King would say;
'Even this shall pass away.'
III.
In his court, the sport,
When the palms
Burned with clapping
He, Cried, O loving friends of mine!
'Even this shall pass away.'
IV.
Lady fairest his queen.Pillowed
Whispering to his soul,
Mortal flesh must come to clay:
'Even this shall pass away.'
V.
Fighting on Soldiers bleeding
Groaning Pain is hard to bear,
But with patience day by day,
'Even this shall pass away.'
VI.
Towering Twenty cubits in the air,
Rose statue carved in stone.
Gazing Asked
what is fame?
Fame is but a slow decay:
'Even this shall pass away.'
VII.
at the Gates of Gold,
Spake he
Life is done, but what is Death?
Fell a sunbeam on his ring,
Showing by a heavenly ray --
Even this shall pass away'
(Blackout of The King's Ring by Theodore Tilton)
I once heard a warning from a sailor:
"Don't look at the ocean at night—the darkness offers an escape."
I wonder if it is the same for a soldier staring down a gun barrel.
As they run through dark trenches, fleeing death,does that cold metal cylinder promise a release?
An end to fear.The death of anger.
Or a quiet peace brought to a desolate land.
Many wonder, staring straight into that deep ocean of unforgiving quiet.
But peace demands a price in an empty country.
It means
a mother you will never see,
a wife you will never love,
a child you will never guide—
only eyes wandering a horizon that never ends.
But the sailor never taught me what remains unseen:
the sea always stares back.
It cannot feel your agonizing rage.
It does not share your lonely sadness.
It has no thought of family or friends.
Instead, it only waits for you to jump, and find your peace.
river saraswati dries
Parading india creates man
During peace,parading india accelrates breathing
During war,parading india stops enemies' breathing
Such miracle is india
When war is thrust upon
Parading india wins war
During peace,prading india accelrates breathing
During war,parading india stops enemies' breathing
Such miracle is india
When epidemic is thrust upon
parading india evolves panacea
During peace,parading india accelrates breathing
During war,parading india stops enemies' breathing
Such miracle is india
When recession is thrust upon
Parading india prepares gravitating metal-filled astronomical bodies
During peace,parading india accelrates breathing
During war,parading india stops enemies' breathing
Such miracle is india
JASMINE IN THE DARK
Like jasmine through the cracked walls, it grew,
Freedom bloomed at midnight, 1947, anew.
With blood of millions, martyrs paved the way,
With prayers of countless, buried stars that stay.
Hope was dancing on the soil of peace,
Through struggle and fire, it would never cease.
Green light rose on the map of the world,
A flag of faith and courage unfurled.
Red ink wrote it on history’s page,
With hearts of hope and a lion’s rage.
A child was born with Allah’s blessing light,
A home for Muslims, standing for what’s right.
To soldiers brave who gave their all,
To martyrs whose names we still recall.
Through trials, storms, and darkest night,
Pakistan stands — a symbol of light.
79 years on, our pride won’t fade,
This jasmine nation was born, and made.
Union Station, Washington, D.C., 2026
A lazy bunch of
worthless pogues,
the old, disgruntled
soldier cried,
leaning on his cane
as he made his way
through Union Station.
The National Guard
meandered around—
laughing, talking,
and looking at their phones.
“I bet you’ve never
seen a day of combat,
never had bullets fired
at you on a mission.
Yet you will brag
about the war you wage
against your own people.”
I hear the cannons in the distance
I hear the screams and the weapons
I hear the whistling of bullets
I hear the lament of all this suffering
I see the buildings collapsing
I see blood flowing everywhere
I see the horrors of war
I see the body of that lifeless child.
I cry with all my body
I cry with all my tears
I cry for not being brave enough
I cry for not being able to stop everything
I vomit these soldiers without a heart
I vomit with all my body these rapists
I vomit seeing them attack innocents
I vomit all the tortures committed by these monsters.
I smell the smoke from gutted buildings and houses
I smell the decomposition of bodies lying alone in the streets
I smell the powder of cannons and missiles
I smell the odors mixing and making me dizzy.
Glory to you, people of Ukraine
Glory to your courage
Glory to your resilience
Your battles carry what we have forgotten: the price of Freedom.
Joël Charvillat
Short note:
A soldier's last letter, kept in a golden pocket, never sent home.
The Golden Pocket
A muddy body sleeps in ash-grey ground,
Eyes open, guarding gold without a sound.
While fear and tears stain the paper’s skin,
Love is folded where the light grows dim.
Each word a bird that will not fly home,
And love rusts quietly in a soldier’s pocket alone.
When a human soldier's slain in battle
like so many cattle,
he's called a hero in defeat
while cattle are called meat.
. jump
thump
bump
lump
hump
hump
hump
m-hm
'to slump
mine
flump
A constant urge
Gnawing, relentless, overwhelming
It preys on my mind
Refusing to let its guard down
But I keep my defences strong
My soldiers fight to their last breath
Every battle a defiance
A rejection of your concrete ways
Try as I might
My castle will never be satisfactory
My cavalry, my strength, my empire
Will never match your desires
But my longings
My desires
Live on
And I refuse to live this way
To tiptoe, to whisper
To silence my voice at the mercy of your thunderous demands
To obey you at the expense of myself
YOUNG
Young and strong and full of vigor
So proud to answer the call
Crisp new uniform
Standing sharp and tall
Solemn with intent
To serve for one and all
His country and comrades
He bravely manned the wall
To stand against the bitter foe
And endure war’s awful squall
With valor and service true
Til the fateful fall
Then home again and still young
But only full of rigor
Soldier Categories
Definition | What is Soldier in Poetry?
Looking for the formal definition, structure, and history of this poetry form? Visit the Poetry Dictionary entry below. Then return to explore how PoetrySoup members bring the form to life through their own poems.
Related Poetry Forms
fighter, mercenary, guerrilla, veteran, guard, officer, volunteer, marine, pilot, warrior, cadet, infantry, recruit, private, gunner, scout, rank, warmonger, paratrooper, trooper, commando, draftee, musketeer, conscript, gi, green beret, airforce member, cavalryperson, enlisted person, infantryperson, military person, selectee, serviceperson, soldier at arms,