The Effects of War

I remember stepping back and seeing the flag of our great nation dancing in the breeze of freedom. The paper that arrived that day notified me that our democracy had been compromised. That's when I knew my dear country needs a brave soldier; my beloved land needs me. 

 

***

I had forgotten the compassionate touch of human flesh. Countless corpses cluttered my surroundings. I saw their last breath depleting and like magic they turned to stone. Others withered to ash. This living hell became a complete wasteland. And just how my surroundings changed so did I; I became an insensitive war machine programmed to fight.

 

***

And now what do I have? Imprinted memories and horrible nightmares burned into my mind. A guilty conscience eating away at my sanity. Any nostalgia I had for the prewar has been overpowered by the misery I underwent during the war.

                  

***

Now I know one thing for certain: the cost of freedom and independence was my transformation of becoming the bringer of death and destruction. And now I have the burden of surviving in the aftermath.