The terrain is fertile
with a peaceful breeze
caressing its face.
Yearning for visitors,
it had soldiers instead.
They came as ordered
to fulfill somebody’s promise
to rule the world.
The powerful soldier
was bleeding dry,
slipping through his fingers
splitting his life into two:
Before and after,
if there is an after.
A drop of confidence
can awake an ocean of doubt.
Will he live or die?
He never intended to kill
but was given a license and will be rewarded.
His brothers in the field started falling.
He’s powerful and brave
but ashamed of his strength in the battlefield.
He killed ten, twenty and more.
A tear of sadness came down his cheek.
How deserted the terrain can be
between patches of kindness?
How ferocious can it be
between patches of compassion?
How far can the gushing blood go
between patches of humanity?
Face to face with reality
what other soldiers think of him
does not define him.
What defines him is the soldier he desired to be.
A universal soldier ignited by his will
to fight fiercely
to protect the oppressed and the weak,
in good times and bad times,
every day, for the rest of his life.
A tear of joy came down his cheek.