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What You Need of Me

What You Need of Me  
 
I came to sit on this bench  
Because I've been hardened in bronze too  
Though mine was a star  
 
They come to me beaten battered and bruised  
Deprived of limps  
Deprived of sight  
G I issued and war torn,  their souls confused  
 
Farm boys from Iowa  
Shredders from Venice  
Ballers from Rucker Park  
Tar Heels from the Carolinas  
I've seen all fifty stars  
And they're all one and the same  
Young  
Poor  
Deprived  
 
Hollowed by what they've seen  
Hardened by what they've done  
 
The doctors give them back their bodies  
Sometimes in pieces  
Suchered  
Bandaged  
Amputated  
 
But what of their humanity?  
Mutilated  
Shrunken  
Charred  
 
Sometimes when I know he can't be saved  
I whisper in his ear  
Nuzzled with my lips  
In my softest southern lilt  
'I love you'  
 
Kiss him on his cheek  
Sometimes the lips  
 
I am in that moment what he needs of me  
Mother  
Wife  
Lover  
Forgotten sweetness  
 
I've surrendered my soul a thousand times for him  
Been shot twice for it  
Pain  
Terror  
Redemption  
 
They asked me if I'd march in the parade  
Maybe carry the flag  
Honor  
Glory  
Country  
 
I said, "No"  
I'm just content to have carried him  
 
Because he carries us
 
Written for the courageous nurses who serve so many in times of conflict; dedicated to my mother, Sadie, who worked in hospitals since she was 16 years old.
Written by LobodeSanPedro
Published | Edited 31st Oct 2017
All writing remains the property of the author. Don't use it for any purpose without their permission.
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