The glory of war

The roar of war, the stench of evil, The screams of death
These are the dreams that have accompanied sleep for so many years
Friends left overseas when the guns fell silent and the smoke lifted
We head for home but a part of us will forever remain here
 
Decades later my thoughts still travel back to my youth
Where so many young men from across the world were cut down
And for what, for a world that seems to have forgotten
Forgotten the sacrifice made in the war to end all wars, If only that were true
 
Terrified of sudden noises, spooked by bright lights, oh those flashes
The smell never goes, the fear never recedes, unable to properly sleep
Living with a dread and a constant reminder in the form of my memory
Having witnessed things only the devil could have orchestrated.
 
I lie here wishing for the end, for my life to play out
Then I will at last be at peace with my childhood friends
But I fear that even in that deathly state, I will never rest
Unable to cope with the guilt of these years lived whilst rotted in some foreign land.