It’s too much to handle,

it’s too much to bear.

He can’t really mean it,

or he just doesn’t care.

He always thought war was hell,

I had to agree.

Now I finally get it…

It’s not about me.

There is no draft,

it’s his own choice.

His way of “serving the country,”

of using his voice.

Him serving the army,

is somehow unimaginable.

The stress around the house now

is, to say the least, almost tangible.

Tears shed,

who knows…

Maybe that’s just

the way life goes.

Half-thinking

is the way to go.

How do I feel?

Can’t say, I don’t know.

Like a man on death row,

I know what’s on the way

I ignore the sense of doom,

the idea of D-Day.

Big hugs,

salty water on my face.

Time for him to disappear,

to leave without a trace.

I know now why he did it,

why he gave up his life.

It was… for the country.

To diminish the strife.

Tears shed,

who knows…

Maybe that’s just

the way life goes.

And while I agree…

Help is what the US needs.

It hurts to see my brother

become a statistic on the news feeds.

It’s over now,

the game was played and lost.

He knew the risks,

he knew of the cost.

Tears that are shed,

on my pillow at night.

They’re my little secret.

Goodnight, big brother.

Goodnight, and sleep tight.