Soldier …. by Bob Smoke

“SOLDIER” by Bob Smoke

It hit me in the deepest way…Kris Kristofferson talking about the pro-Vietnam war song he wrote back in the day….when he was in the Army.
He emphasized how his view had dramatically changed.
He stated back then he was “totally seeing the world from the perspective of the soldier”

What is seeing the world from the perspective of the soldier?
Does that go away?
When does it stop?

Could this be my angst?
Can I not let go of my training and my gut?
Will I always have the soldier mind?
A Marine is always a Marine.
I was an Airman.
And a large part of me is still an Airman
Military.

Maybe that is why I cannot publicly protest a war I don’t
believe in.
I think of the troops.
I think of when I was in that situation.
How it hurt…..
and how I hated them!
How abandoned I felt….
as the rockets blasted,
and the snipers sniped.

We had each other.
Whether we believed in the war or not…
We believed in each other.