Never Forgotten

We are the forgotten,
The discarded,
The protested.
We are the broken,
The injured,
The dead.
We are not memories,
Or the honored,
Nor the regarded.
We are the warriors,
The reapers of men’s lives,
We are soldiers.

Like the ghosts of Vietnam,
We are the used,
Abused,
And tossed into the pit.
Like the pits of holocaust,
Because we are the undesired of society.
So we are sent to fight,
And used as political leverage.
Our fates are decided while we decide another’s,
We see our future in another’s eyes,
As their light flickers out into oblivion,
It is forgotten just as quickly.
We know we will be forgotten,
In like manner, and just as quickly.

We have received the call,
Down through the ages.
And we have answered that call,
Been armed and sent away.
Away from all we know,
From all we love.

And what do we receive in return,
Turned away, rejected, and ridiculed.
Told we will be taken care of,
For all those years of service.
But we are sent to end of the line,
‘Cause we are savages of war.

So go back to you homes,
Your couches, your recliners.
Go back to your families and friends.
We WILL be all right.
We WILL survive the night.
We know how to take care of our own.
We’ll set up our camp,
We’ll fly our own flag.
“Forget me not,” and “Don’t tread on me.”
You may have forgotten up,
But as for us and the fallen before us,
They and Us…we will NEVER BE FORGOTTEN.

                                                          CHAD JONES 18JULY2007