As a young sailor my heart was carried by the wind each morn,

As angels gather the souls of the men laid to rest I heard a horn,

Though labeled a sailor I was a soldier with a weapon in hand,

As wind blew across the land I heard angels help dead to stand,

Please Mother Nature carry my love on your winds to her today,

Thought I smelled the mowed Texas grass but it soon blew away,

Heard my schoolmate cry although he died a year before I came,

They are hot on my trail but exhaustion has filled my worn frame,

The three I left behind are wearing heavy on my mind and heart,

I’ve their dog tags in my pack but to leave them tearing me apart,

I won’t give up, I won’t,  I swear I will carry the tags to send home,

Wonder if the dark angel that wanders the field will leave me alone,

I’ve a girl back home that wants my return at least I think I’m sure,

The cards I’ve been dealt weren’t the cards on the Navy brochure,

I hear a chopper on the other side of this jungle I must live through,

Run hard I keep telling myself and this nightmare won’t be true,

The blood on my hands matches the blood I’ve worn for two days,

I’ve washed my hands but whatever I do the stench of death stays,

Jock itch has overtaken my groin and thighs so bad that I bleed,

Where is my fairy tale of romance and love, how about what I need,

I’ve so often cried this time that my throat aches like a crying child,

Praying for failed soldiers to guide me home cause I’m running wild,

The sound of the chopper is gone and I’m afraid the end is coming near,

If death’s to come calling just know it’s losing the girl back home I fear.

The end, by Pat