The Tossed and Forgotten - An Ode to Our Veterans

rodeo670 (58) in kaoticmusings •  last month

The Tossed and Forgotten

Every year for one day in November
We take a few moments to remember
The ones we call our heroes who served
The ones we claim should get all that they deserve

You tell us "thank you for your service and your sacrifice"
Thinking that a few nice words will suffice
When in reality, you have no idea what you're saying
And no clue about all the real prices we've been paying

Do you actually understand what we went through on a daily basis,
The constant mind games they played on us to ruin our mental homeostasis?
Do you know how they tore down our humanity and turned us into robots
Thinking of nothing more than where to aim our next shots?

We signed up to be patriots but they made janitorial duties our profession
Further fueling our pent-up frustration and aggression
Then as pawns of the Empire they sent us out to fight
Halfway across the world, the big brown "terrorist enemy" to smite

Dehumanizing the enemy was their main priority
Making us believe in their words because of their authority
Telling us that those people would kill us first unless we were quick to fire
Effectively turning us into nothing more than Big Oil's guns for hire

Then after all the killing and the mental trauma and the pain
They ship us back home on that next available airplane
And our families welcome us back after we get out
Not knowing that we're about to enter into our next big bout

For the families who loved and supported us before we left
No longer know who we are and leave us feeling bereft
Alone in the vast sea of civilians who have no idea
That all we want is a cure for all our demons, a final panacea

Without a real support network we are thrown aside and forgotten
Leaving us to start believing that we are monsters, that we are rotten
But all we really want is to feel normal again, to feel the love of humanity
That's what we really need to quell the monsters of our inner insanity

Yet so many of us never get that help or feel that we are loved
Because so many of us just end up getting tossed aside and shoved
We become the forgotten and the eternally alone
Left to wrestle with our own demons, wondering if we can ever fully atone

So many of us someday even end up on the streets
With nothing to our names but a few jackets and a few sheets
And even still some end up choosing to become a statistic
Extinguishing their fire forever, thinking their hopes were unrealistic

Next time you think of saying "thank you" to us
Keep these things in mind, lest you appear to be superfluous
Fully know and understand what it is you're thanking us for
And show us your true support by never again supporting another war.

---

Check out some of my other posts!

How I Achieved 200 Followers in My First Month on Steemit
Why I Chose to Invest $100 in Steem
My First Week on Steemit
The Dawn of The Dancing Dreamers
The Dawn of Friendship In a New Age
I'm Just an Island Boy Living in Utah who Loves EDM

---

---

!steemitworldmap 40.754539 lat -111.902618 long Salt Lake City, Utah local Steemian! d3scr