A Soldier's Anthem by writerforever

The distance between us is immense

And I find the days long and durable

But my thoughts are often taken back

To a time of innocence and peace

In the heat of the battlefield

As the cannon balls fly round about me

When the blood of my fellow men cry up from the war torn earth

Memories of you excel brightly in my mind

Like sunlight piercing through a dark and uncertain world

It is those precious memories that haunt my every dream

And my every waking thought

Like the ties that bind the emerald earth with the sapphire sky

Such is the ties that bind you and I

Both North and South, they seek to keep me from you

This utter despair of war and death tears at my very soul

And I can taste the bitter tears

That are trailing down the endless sea of dying faces

The innocence and beauty of what once was

Is being washed away by the blood of thousands

I walk through the musket fire, untouched

But it is your love and memory that shields me from harm

Every step that I take draws my heart closer to thee

And to my beloved homeland

When this horrendous war is over

When they finally sing the marching song

I will take my feet from this war torn, blood washed earth

And I will step onto the innocent soil

From whence I left all those years ago

And I will walk home to you

The journey to you will be a long and dangerous road

And there may be times on my journey to you

That I may grow weary and unable to walk on

But your memory will rest in my heart

And will give me the strength to march onward

I pray that you will keep me in your thoughts

And in the very deepest part of your heart

Until I come back to you