And quite unaccustomed to fear.*
And the man most admired for his warrior’s ways
Was a man called Abdulla Abmeer.
A fighter by trade, a man quite adept
With bayonet, rifle, or spear.
The Arabian winds spread the fame of the name
Of the man named Abdulla Abmeer.
Now America’s sons are also quite brave
Who also don’t cave in to fear.
And the bravest of all, at America’s call
Was a soldier named Jonathan Gere.
Loved family and home, but when bugle was blown
Requesting the troops to appear.
At the head of the line was the tanned, chiseled form
Of Staff Sergeant Jonathan Gere.
These two met one night in the midst of a fight
On the hot desert sand of Iraq.
Abmeer, with a sneer, turned his gun on John Gere
Saying, “Tonight you are not going back.”
In response Sergeant Gere calmly readied his gun
And spoke to Abdull Abmeer:
“I’ve heard of your name; of your warrior’s fame
But tonight your legend dies here.”
The two shot as one; they both slumped to the ground
As their life force drained onto the sand.
Then the battle moved on, leaving both men alone
And Gere reached for Abdulla’s limp hand.
Dying, he asked, “What thing have we done
At the whim of those thinking this just?”
Abmeer nodded and sighed; then quietly died
On top of the desert’s brown dust.
Now there’s a small house in war-torn Iraq
Where a family still mourns for their son.
And back in the States a wife and her child
Weep for the husband who’s gone.
So what have we learned from all of these wars:
Korea, Viet Nam, and Iraq?
We’ve learned that both sides send their youth to the fray
And only the lucky come back.
But even the “lucky” still carry the scars
Of the civilians who got in the way.
The millions who cried, were wounded or died
For a government's “Cause-Of-The-Day”
For there’s always a cause or a reason to kill
Or so the world’s leaders all say.
So the warriors stand ready to prove their side right
While the rest of us get in the way.
*with thanks to Percy French (1854-1920)
Copyright 2008 - Phil Cerasoli
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