I Want To Join

I've heard those

corrosive words

a multitude of times

"I want to join."

No.

You haven't seen what I have seen

all the lost souls

all the bodies wrapped in white gauze

to hide the burns that would otherwise

make themselves known.

All the death

all the missing arms and legs

all the bones

seemingly broken beyond repair.

You haven't seen what I have seen.

He was never home

I had to live half my life without him

and raise my mother's spirits when they faltered

constantly.

He was never home

when his spinal cord faltered

and he donned a neck brace and a year-long hospital stay

eight hours away.

Many birthdays, Halloweens, Christmases,

Independence Days,

Thanksgivings, Easters,

births,

and even the funeral of his own mother

were stolen from him

and everyone who cared.

The problem was, no one learned

that the military is a great profession,

but everything has a dark side

and my entire life has been composed

of a small taste

of this particular darkness.

Before saying

"I want to join,"

take a moment of silence for all who have said the same thing

all the sacrifices

all the years away

for Call of Duty is not

reality.