Tender But Brave

18 years old and ready to fight

He seems so tough but he cries at night

He read the letters in a room alone

He gets so teary when he sees the words ‘Home’

Wounded and broken,

But still he stands tall.

No challenge too over-bearing,

And no fear too consuming.

He has been in India border for over a year

And not coming home was his greatest fear

He would try to concentrate on his job

And talk to friends who meant a lot.

For each day is a battle,

One we do not always win,

But our persistence is our courage.

He fights with all that he has,

And sometimes that is not enough,

Yet still we continue in a battle

With victory seeming impossible.

His friends became his family

They were the ones who always seem to be happy

They were going through the same as him

They all kept their sadness within.

His determination and dreams of happiness

Are not only our guidance,

But also a dagger in his back,

For it is the euphoric joy and brightness

That he battles for.

The prospects of happiness begin to grow dim.

Again he continues to fight,

Disregarding the wounds of his previous battles,

Ignoring what may seem inevitable.

With each passing loss,

For every once in a while he stands,

Our heads held high, victorious at last.

It is now that he finds the will-power to keep fighting,

To continue in this never ending war.

They go to visits families of friends who have died

They tell them what they knew about them and hugged them while they cried

They tell them all the good times they had

And they would want them to be happy and not sad.

When they finally get to leave

They see their family waving in the railway stations and couldn't be more pleased

They run to their loved ones who they missed every day

For that moment they forget they have even been away.

But for that brief moment of victory,

He embraces the beauty that is life and all it has to offer.

The soldier got to stay at home for 2 weeks

He spent every day with friends and family and for the first time in years he had a goodnight sleep.

But the weeks went so fast

And it was soon time for him to go back