How do you tell a mother

her child’s dead?

How do you take the life

of one who begs?

How do you sleep at night

with blood in your hands?

How do you fight fears

you don’t understand?

How do you obey orders

knowing you’re digging your grave?

How do you tell your sweetheart

you can’t be there?

How do you tell your children

you’re going away?

How do you embrace life

after embracing death?

How do you sleep at night

without regret,

watching the flashbacks

of the blood you’ve shed?

How do you cover your ears

While holding a gun?

How do you welcome love

to a heart of stone?

How do you save a life

when killing’s all you know?

How do you smile wide

when sorrow haunts your soul?

How will you start again

if you return?

How will you burry

all the inevitable pain?

-Freddy Cruz

Dedicated to the soldiers who risk, and sometimes, give their lives for us.