Bury it and forget it

Soldier On

It’s forbidden to say they were stupid
Or to use a synonym, that they didn’t know
Our leaders were lying, that their henchman
Had conned the nation. It’s forbidden
To say they sought thrills, young men
Out to discover killing a human being,
To be in righteous battles like in movies.
You can’t say these men were thinking
About becoming heroes to their loved ones,
About getting the one-up on schoolyard
Friends when they get home, about landing
A job as security guard or a policeman
When no one else is getting any kind.
You can’t say that they killed foreign kids
And women, blew families away just for
Vanity.  You can’t even say however one’s
Tempted country right or wrong was the idea.
Only families can say that, which is why
I told my brother just bury it somewhere
And try to forget she ever happened.