Oh, they gave him a medal for this
And they gave him another for that
Paraded him before the Nation
Wearing his heroic PR hat.
And they posted him here
And they posted him there
And if they noticed his stress
Just didn't seem to care.
Came the final straw that
Broke the camels back
And slowly but surely
He began to crack.
Long horror filled nights
When he hardly ever slept
And the solitary times when
He broke down and wept.
He broke down in action
Killed when he shouldn't:
Asked to explain his actions
He found he just couldn't.
So came the Court Martial
And that other Hell
Of years locked away
In his prison cell.
Released into a world
Full of hate and tension
Stripped of his rank with
Forfeiture of his pension,
Just another statistic,
A broken life on the street
Another homeless Veteran
His humiliation complete.
Just another on parade
In the growing ranks
Of ex service persons queueing
For hand outs from food banks
Forgotten were his medals
His commendations won
Forgotten was his service
And the duty that he'd done.
No attempt at compassion
No attempt at common sense
To add insult to injury, rough
Sleeping was made an offence
For you can't have our leaders
Offended by that awful sight
Of those whose lives they've ruined
Sleeping on the streets at night.
