The Soldier

• Chloe Craig, Grade 8
• Poetry
• 2017

He says he's leaving
He'll be gone for a while.
We fall down crying
He fakes a small smile.
He says be strong, I'll be alright.
But you cannot miss his sudden flicker of fright.
Gun in hand, he lands on the shore,
The bullets start
And so does the war.
The first day over,
Friends made and lost.
Scarred bodies and minds
They fought for their country but at a terrible cost
l0 months later he comes back home
He is not my father,
He is a man of fear,
A man who was once a brave soldier