What Will You Do With Us Now?

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When …
the last shot is fired and the cannons silenced,
the thunder stops and the lightning flames out,
the smoke clears and the fog lifts–and
we’ve put down our swords,
what will you do with us now?

When …
we leave the war but it doesn’t leave us,
we’re excited to be home but you’re not happy to see us,
we come home with a new sense of normal but it’s not normal,
we know we were the best but you treated us as the worst–and
we’ve put down our swords
what will you do with us now?

When …
our youth visits us at night yet it’s not peaceful,
our eyesight is failing yet our vision of life is better,
our hearing fades yet we hear the sounds of the past clearly,
our memories of today are weak yet our memories of then are strong–and
we’ve put down our swords
what will you do with us now?

Tom Reilly, Sgt., Vietnam, 1969-70

#poetryofwarseries

Author: Tom

Business owner, professional speaker, author, and salesman . . . Since 1981, Tom has traveled globally sharing his content-rich message of hope. Tom literally wrote the book on Value-Added Selling. Tom has a B.A. in Psychology from St. Louis University and an M.A. in Psychology from University of Missouri in St. Louis with a special emphasis in work motivation theory. He spent four years in the United States Army where he honed his leadership skills as a Drill Sergeant. Tom is a prolific writer and researcher. He is a recipient of the Northeast Business Editors Silver Award; author of fifteen books; and editorial contributor to several magazines. Tom is an avid golfer, Harley-Davidson rider, and fountain pen collector. Please click here for Tom’s complete bio.