The Kraken

Time marches on
Like a soldier's line-
One, two,
One, two.
But what of the soldiers
Left behind?

Plenty of soldiers
Fought and died.
But what of the ones
Who lived?

What of those
Who faced
The Kraken-
The war spirit
Humans so enjoy-
And lived to speak its name?

What of those
Who fought for me
And fought for you
But never heard
The victory cry?

It is the fact
The uniform
Tries to hide-
Once you taste
War,
Once the Kraken
Has tasted you,
It becomes
A part
Of
You.

Tonight,
A brother
Attacked his mother
Because the soldier in him
Had been called to battle,
And all that moved
Was his enemy.

Tonight,
My brother
Came home and looked at me,
And I saw in his eyes
The Kraken
He'd sworn
He'd left behind.

They broke him
To fit the uniform-
And sent him home
For us
To fix him.

And we tried.

But as he sobs
His hatred
Of his own anger,
The rhythmic noise
Is the heartbeat of
The Kraken-
Awaiting its chance
To rise again.