Fifteen years with the Colours,
I served my country well
Went everywhere they sent me
Endured some times in Hell.
Sometimes I wake my family
With my tortured screams
As demons from my past
Come to taunt me in my dreams.
Now they accuse me of murder
For some half forgotten act
Accusations easily made
So long after the fact.
The terrorist wore no uniform
Hid openly on the street
Could have been almost anybody
Of those folk we had to meet.
They had no Rules of War,
Just shot us from ambush
And as the crowds gathered
Disappeared in the crush.
Now they accuse us of murder
Anytime that they choose
And the lawmaker that profits
Never walked in our shoes..
Peacekeepers they called us
Constantly battling with the flow,
Why were we sent there,
Why on Earth did we go?
Should we have left them to it
To bomb, shoot and maim
Murder each other freely
Left them to their power game?
I'm a near old man now
Hoping at long last
To find a little calm and peace
From my long service past.
These days never certain
whether or not, or if or when,
Somebody will scream murderer
And the nightmare will start again.
The idealists and the apologists
With little liking of the facts
Will call loudly for justice over
Long past, unforgotten, military acts.
The terrorists now, Freedom Fighters
In positions of power in their lands
Look benignly on and deny any blame
For spilt blood clinging to their hands.
