The Nightmare Never Ends

Close your eyes and go to sleep,
My poor, haunted soldier man,
I'll try my best to keep you safe,
In any way I possibly can.

Cradled there in my loving arms,
He drifted off to Vietnam once more.
I tried my best to soothe him,
But he was already back in the war.

His body's tense and twitching,
As he dreams of yesteryear,
I call out his name in vain,
Just trying to ease his fear.

But the battle is already brewing,
He's in the midst of a fire fight,
And for what seems like an eternity,
My soldier thrashes in the night.

And it's too late to bring him home,
He's fighting along side his brothers,
He hears his comrades cry out in pain,
And call out for their mothers.

He's soaked in sweat as he jumps about,
He feels the bullets whizzing by,
His body's numb as he checks himself,
He's so certain he's gonna die.

No, not today my brave hero,
Though you've lost so many friends,
He opens his eyes as the dream has past,
But the nightmare never ends.

Chris Woolnough
11/1/03


 This poem was written about the Vietnam War which lasted from 1959-1973. It honestly gives me chills each time I read it. I don't know the background behind the poem but the way I imagine it, it was written from the viewpoint of the soldier's wife. Her husband has returned from war physically, but mentally he's still in Vietnam fighting alongside his comrades. As our troops return from combat in present day, I think we would do well to remember that a lot of them are experiencing the same kind of mental struggles as this man was. Vietnam veterans did not come home to a warm welcome like many of our troops do today. That war was extremely controversial and when our men came home they were a source of contempt, not respect. Today, we are a little better at recognizing that those soldiers weren't the ones who declared war, they were given orders and had to follow them. We support and honor our soldiers, but unfortunately that doesn't always take away the horror of battle. For some soldiers, in any country, in any era, fighting any war, with public support or without it, the nightmare never ends.

Pray for our soldiers every chance you get.




Link to poem:  http://www.angelfire.com/nf/yvonne/Nightmare.html