Soldier's Sacrifice

The nation beckoned

Duty called, Conscience awakened

Give up the easy life, it said 

Embrace a life austere, instead

No plush house, no luxury

In biting cold, with tents flimsy

Give up the family, it said 

Steel your heart, have no regret.

It threatens your soul at times

This bloodshed for  no reason or rhyme

Protecting me, his mother

Staring death in the eye

Perennially on guard, at the border. 

Meanwhile, city lights uninterruptedly shine.

Ungrateful civilians continue to whine.

Anonymous in death, this son of mine, 

No tears are shed at his shrine