The sand crunched under my boots, the gun pressed to my chest
I stuck out covered in my desert dress, I confessed
I first saw him walking, so innocent and light
He didn't pose a threat, not in the slight
He turns to me; his eyes are so scared,
Something was wrong and I am so unprepared
In the blink of an eye, everything changed
He ran out in front and pulled out his vest, he had it all prearranged
My finger was on the trigger
I've sent the boy to the gravedigger
The muzzle kicked up, like a sick reflex
It happened in the space of a breath
The little boy was put to death
His vest lay motionless beside him
I expected the screaming, but it failed to come
Instead the silence covered me and made me numb
How could I have any idea of what I would do?
He was so young, just their little play toy
How could I know that this would happen when I deploy?
He didn't deserve this, he just played his part
He fought the bad guys with all his heart
How could he know what he had done?
He wasn't even over the age of twenty-one
He paid the ferryman with his blood
So much that it started a flood
If the streets ran red, would you see my dread?
Would you see the faces of those that are already dead?
I see them every night
Yet they never come to light
The faces that I always see
The darkness that consumes me
When will they get my plea?
I just could never foresee
What this would do to me
Why can't my scars be like an amputee?
But not all scars are for the eye to see
Especially when you look at an enlistee
