The Honor Trap Poem by James L. A. Huetson

He stood tall at roll call,
Because once a Marine always a Marine.
Always faithful to a fault,
He was one of those always first at the scene.
The proud, the responsible, the best,
Characterized in Semper Fidelis.

His job as a soldier,
And now as a criminal justice agent,
Is to follow the laws and orders.
It is not to think about what is decent.
The people in charge have made the decision,
And it’s not for him to seek a revision.

In his life he can never know,
What crises will demand his immediate best?
These crises scars don’t always show,
Then those in charge order and he must obey, lest
He be deemed disobedient and punished for,
Living up to his code of honor.

In order to protect his peers,
He must forsake his Oaths of service.
He must forsake his colleagues for the tiers
Of management, which drive him to the precipice,
Where to honor one is to dishonor the other.
To obey those in charge is to defile his brother.

So he summons the best friend he has,
And dispatches him on a short time mission,
To bring back an item from the past,
Highlighting the memory of a previous situation.
And while his friend is fulfilling his request,
He blows his heart right out of his chest.