A memo to The President

The war was a great success
we beat back the enemy
and killed them all with our swords
they will never live to bother us again.

Yes, the war was a great success,
I left my kids in the hands of others
so I could drive back the infidel
and when I returned
I found them in more desperate need
of me and my love
then when I left.

Yes, the war was indeed a great success,
Me and my family were driven from our home a year ago
because of the fear that we would infect the surrounding children
with our ideas of fighting for our right to speak,
and my daughter, she may never see her friends again
because some died in the war
their houses exploding as our enemy tried to keep us at bay
and others sit in their rooms
not so much as blinking,
for they don't know how to bring purpose to their lives without the war to guide them
And me, I will end up checking everyone I meet for the rest of my life
to make sure that they are who they really say they are
thinking that everyone around me is still trying to kill me
for leading this crusade to a world where we won’t have to hide our identities any more.
And my son, he still wakes up screaming every night with the memory
of the day he was almost killed,
the day he saved your life so this war could end.
And yes, his mind may still revert back to that day every time he trips and falls
leaving him lying there, twitching on the floor
and no one but someone who was there can bring him out of it,
but at least he can still celebrate the fact that he didn’t die
with his selfless act for the cause
even if he may never be able to walk
without the aid of crutches ever again.
And I may have lost twenty years of my life to this battle
as well as
my wife,
my sister,
and scores of countless friends,
but at least we have our freedoms back
right?