Combat Soldier's prayer

A COMBAT SOLDIER'S PRAYERby
Gary Jacobson © 1999
This combat soldier's prayer,Who has served his time in Hell,Is may we learn the lessons of war well,That we not doom future generations,The same old tales of horror to tell,To endure what in youth they see mistakenly as glory.Oh God, do not let our childrenRepeat the same old story.Make it so that America's babies live to grow oldIn this land of the free and the bold.Help us throw off the shackles of hate that bindAnd grow old in a life of a peaceful kind.Teach us that there is no glory in war,Nor honor there that brave men should not abhor.Teach us instead, one for another our brothers to love.Shower us with thine Celestial message from above,That we plant seeds of peace evermoreAnd make war-no-more!But if I should die on some far, far away battlefieldKnow I answered the callFor a grand principle of freedom to yield.My fervent prayer is that deathMay not have been in vainFighting for peace and right for the world to attain.My brothers, American roses standing by my sideOn alien soil dyingIn the summer of my youthful prideAll the leaves around me falling,Now I'm lying here still, in sunshine and in shadow,Longing to hear, "brother next door, I love you so."For moldering in the soft ground below,I feel you living and loving in the world above meStanding tall because I fought that you might be...Oh look ye down now,And tell me you still think of meHonor my red blood, spilt that others might stand free.Tell me that I did not give my all for you in vainThat brothers and sisters do not look upon my sacrificeWith hateful,Or even worse,Uncaring disdain.Do not forget me when my valley's hushedAnd white with snow,Grass growing green in the summer of my meadowHelp me see the peace I lived and died for grow.Make my lonely grave richer,Sweeter be...Make this truly,"The land of the freeAnd the home of the brave,"I gave my life to saveThat I might too, lie eternally,Forever free...