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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.
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.
All writing remains the property of the author. Don't use it for any purpose without their permission.
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