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 vane,
Just trying to ease his fear.
But the battle is already brewing,
He's in the mist 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
