A poem I wrote.

I wrote this when I was sixteen years old. It was copywritten in 1990 with hundreds of others, but this one I am most proud of.

I Fired the Fatal Shot

I know not what is being writ

I know not what to say

So I’ll put my feet in a soldiers boot

And put my heels away

 

I’m staring at your picture, Love

It’s faded, old, and torn

It brings back memories of better times

And thoughts of times not born

 

Your picture brings me happiness

It’s my only source of peace

The troops are moving out, Love

So my memories I release

 

I’m yanked back to reality

The firing stars anew

The blood is thick and deep this time

And the living are the few

 

Orders, orders, shoot to kill

It’s either them or you

There’s choppers flying fast and low

Why is the sky so blue?

 

I feel the rifle in my hand

My enemy’s eye to eye

It was I who fired the fatal shot

It was I who watched him die

 

No one gets a burial

Few wounded return to base

The captured never return at all

But I will leave this place

 

God, the water’s cold today

But our tracks we have to hide

I turn and “Hey, where’s Charlie?”

He was walking by my side

 

The bushes offer slight protection

The enemy’s getting near

Don’t they know we have advantage?

Do these people ever fear?

 

Another battle has ensued

Another life is lost

What’s the price we soldiers pay?

What does freedom cost?

 

I look my enemy in the eye

I stare him in the face

It was I who fired the fatal shot

I will leave this place

 

We must keep warm by huddling

A fire would show our camp

The moon shines bright the air is cool

The ground is getting damp

 

I take my turn as lookout

I hold their future in my hand

In the other is my rifle

I hope God will understand

 

I hear the rustle in the woods

Could this man be friend or foe?

Shoot now, ask questions later

I fired the fatal blow

 

My hands were meant to hold you

My lips await your kiss

But my hands have taken many lives

Was I born to live like this

 

Finally a break in action

The troops are cold and pale

The enemy retreated yesterday

And today we got our mail

 

My Dearest Tony,

I know you’re in a battle

Do you realize so am I?

My life is naught without my love

And every night I cry

 

I never want to hurt you

But I must do the best I can

There’s no easy way to tell

I love another man

 

I thought that I could wait for you

That I could wait for your return

But time was love’s own bonfire

And I just watched it burn

 

There was no good time to tell you

And never will there be

I’ll cherish the love we used to share

But, Tony, I’ve set you free.

 

Another battle has ensued

But there’s no life that’s lost

As a lover I pay the price

A heartache is the cost

 

I’m ripped back to reality

The bullets are whizzing past

I don’t know what the pain will be

But this battle is my last

 

I feel the rifle in my hand

My enemy’s eye to eye

It was I who fired the fatal shot

It was he who watched me die

 

Written by Lynlie (Ott) Bacon

copywrite 1990

 

 

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