5 More Troops Died In Afganistan On Sunday (This Is For Them) Poem by Linda Racaniello

I read in the paper more are enlisting
To fight for freedom on foreign shores
Even though many young men/women are dying
When they sent fight abroad in civil wars

I realize it’s a personal choice
To fight for what you believe is right
But I imagine many go away
Not for the reason but the voice

To roam the world in no mans land
With camouflage and fatigues
Risking their lives for their country
Fighting on the hot desert sand

They expect to come home with money
Expecting great memories to share
Hoping to find that special someone
To finally have someone that cares

But so many come home alone
Not holding an American flag
Not speaking or even breathing
But heroes in a body bag

They get their name on plagues
They are remembered on holidays
They are praised among the people
Even though they never came back

I cannot find it in myself to go that route
Even if I were still young enough
I wouldn’t sign on the dotted line
I guess I’m not made of the right stuff

They enlist to fight a world away
Leaving kids and wives behind
Hoping that their family will be fine
While they are fighting far away

Soldiers are dying by roadside bombs
Where insurgents hide in hovels deep
Lives taken in the blink of an eye
When guns are fired and darkness creeps

I find it hard to watch the news
Of friends and families being torn apart
And people that I’ve known and loved
The choices they made I would never choose