Reunited, Once again.

He holds the pillow tight,
unable to drift into another night of restless sleep.
Every night a new nightmare brings itself into his mind.
Every night, the tears slowly roll from his eyes.

At the same moment,
she is clutching her rifle, fingers cold, hands shaking, while on guard duty.
The playback of their goodbye appears in her mind,
his face disappears, and she begins to cry.

He kisses her picture goodnight religiously,
whispering "I love you" as he attempts to drift to sleep.
6 months until the day she returns,
being away from her is something he never learned.

She pulls his picture from her field jacket pocket,
the edges crinkled and worn.
She can't wait to be in his arms again,
the pictures will hold their love until then.

6 months later, she steps into the terminal.
Walking and watching to see where he was.
Through the crowd, she sees his face,
they run and she collapses into his embrace.

He cries and holds her right against his heart,
while she wraps her arms around his neck.
They passionately kiss...everything around them
seems to freeze in time.

This minute of time is what they both waited for,
just wanting to stay in the frozen beautiful moment.

Soon, they walk out the doors of the airport,
two loving souls reunited, once again.

"Who I Want to Be."

I know who I am.
I know where I've been.
It's time to change,
And so it begins.

I know who I want to be,
I know where I need to go,
But seeing how it will turn out,
Is the one thing I do not know.

I was nobody until this week,
I was wrong in everything and everyone
I wish I could change the past
But I will push forward, it's all been done.

Been worrying about everything,
It's been my only concern.
I've forsaken my Best Friend,
Now it's time to return.

I'm leaving it all to Him,
He can have all of me.
My life, my time, my focus
All I will be.

Maybe I'm meant to be alone,
Just to be all the man I can be.
Or maybe God will bring me
to the woman I'll marry.

Either way,
No matter how hard,
I'll take it like a man,
He can have my heart.

I pray that I'll find out who I am,
I pray that I'll find out who I will be.
From here on out,
God will re-shape me.

"Some Things"

Some things are meant to be broken
Some things are meant to last
Some things are meant for a reason
Some things belong in the past.

Some people are meant to be friends
Some people are meant to be together
Some people are meant to grow apart
And some are meant forever.

These things we can't control
These people don't know how it ends
For everything there is a reason,
And in our hearts, and God, it all depends.

So the question is...
What do we do from here?

"September 11"

September 11 was the day

When hijackers took over four planes

When one plane flew into the North Tower

It was the beginning of the most frightening hour

Soon, another plane crashed into the other one

Smoke and ash clouded the light of the sun

Then the towers came crashing to the ground

Debris was falling all around

People were shocked and horrified

Hundreds and thousands of people died

Into the Pentagon another plane crashed

One side of it was on fire and smashed

The last plane was headed for Washington D.C.

A couple of heroes decided to fight back on Flight 93

They brought the plane down in a field in PA

They sacrificed themselves for others that day

Osama Bin Laden committed an act of war

Americans had never felt this angry before

Terrorists mistakingly thought they could bring America to her knees

They also couldn't bring down

The American flags flying in the breeze

"The Bridge"

The long wooden bridge, standing against the cold, ice, and weather.
A metaphorical presence forms in my mind.
Watching the occasional individuals strolling across.
The ladies chatting as they walk, the girl with her dog,
the lone runner, running through the icy coldness.
Driving across this wooden bridge, gazing at the ice below,
I somehow likened this perfect post-card picture to our lives.
For life is not only how we see it through our eyes,
but how we are seen from a distance.

Reaching the end, and walking upon the sand,
beholding the structure and surrounding landscape
from a distance
I took in the full meaning of this metaphor...
For above the long wooden bridge with its strolling souls,
was the sun, looking down on it and the land around.

Taking a picture, it took my breath away.
Seeing how finite, but also how beautiful life is.
For our souls walk that bridge of life,
fearing falling into the icy cold darkness below,
but taking in the beautiful scenes around us.
And the Sun above us...looking down, as we souls walk the Bridge.

"What We Wish For"

Everyone wishes, whether they know it or not.
They long for something, more than material things.
We throw it around, like it means nothing at all,
It raises us up, and makes us fall.

Some people don't experience it, until the one.
While others experience it over and over again.
The wait will be worth it, but it's still so hard.
Love...it's what we wish for.

"The Man and the Silence"

Still quiet peace. Silence. Breeding yet more peaceful tranquility.
It's the silence and darkness that makes a man think.
Into the hours of the night, the silence surrounds the man and his thoughts.
It makes him dwell on things past, and things to come.
Things he wishes he had, or would happen to him.
But in the end, the silence still remains, as he drifts off to a peaceful sea of dreams.

"In the Company of Heroes"

While traveling on the red eye to Charlotte,
I was not expecting what lay ahead there.
As soon as I arrived and walked this large airport,
I was overwhelmed with a sea of digital camo fatigues.
Hundreds, if not thousands, walked and sat beside me.
Walking and talking with a private still in basic,
wishing him a Merry Christmas,
walking and seeing those sleeping on the floor,
or eating in a restaurant.
Sitting next to a female recruit, talking to her over her breakfast.
I felt an overwhelming sense of pride,
to be an American.
To have shared the opportunity to be in uniform with them.
To be, in this, in this overwhelming company of heroes.
For a hero should not just be one who dies for his country,
but any one who is willing to sacrifice and suffer
to defend us and our country.
I was proud to be in the company of heroes,
the future soldiers of an infantry brigade from Ft. Jackson, SC.

Good luck and God Bless.

"The Shadows"

Walking the grounds one last time before he withdraws
Only a few souls remain to even notice his wanderings
Not a sound, apart from the cars under the streetlights.

As he wanders on the near empty passages and byways,
He sees the memories and mistakes he made at the scenes where they occurred...
At the bench under the tree by the Hill,
at the metal banister outside the auditorium,
at the arena of athletics, worship, and sermons,
and other spots with certain meanings.

The solitary figure walks beneath the street lights and realizes.
Realizes the dark long shadow in front of him,
growing, then disappearing, only to return as he passes by the light.
Following several moments of time re-watching this occurrence,
The figure turns to see yet another shadowy appearance.
But this one, this shadow, is unsimilar to the other.

The distinct, obvious shadow in front is the one the figure follows...
Strong at first, but slowly fading as the light weakens...
The spectral shadow personifies man, as he tends to go his own way in life,
Believing he is strong and leading from the front.

But we overlook the secondary shadowy figure on the left...
the one who is mostly faint, but always remains there,
through both light and the weakening of light...
Just as Christ remains beside us throughout everything in life.

Man may go his own way for a short time, but fades and becomes lost.
Christ, the never-ending figure beside us may fade from man’s focus,
but still remains nonetheless.

As the solitary figure wanders through the empty courtyard,
a tune drifts through the wind and trees, heard by no one, save the figure.
...”I don't live a perfect life, but God knows I'm trying the best I can,
And I have wasted so much time, pretending I'm alright about who I am,
but now I'm living the best I can...”...

Thoughts now invade his mind...everything becomes so translucent.
“Don’t follow and focus on the main shadow up ahead,
But focus on the everlasting figure beside you.
Now..now you’re living the best you can...”

The transformed figure now enters the bright lit lonely corridor
And walks the middle, light surrounding him on all sides.

"The Private...The Marine."

It happened one day on a street in Iraq
A squad of marines were patrolling
When they came under attack
An insurgent shot an RPG
After it exploded
They heard the screams
Pieces of flesh littered the ground
Blood was everywhere
And Corporal Ramirez was down
The corpsman was hit and bleeding bad
He didn't want to die
On a street in Baghdad
So a lowly private who was on the patrol
Ran from cover
And took on the role
He bandaged the Corporal in the middle of the street
He brought back his leader
But he was not complete
He went back for the corpsman, and the other men too
He brought them to safety
And saw it all through
His brothers in arms watched in surprise
But they saw the determined look in his eyes
The private would not leave his comrades behind
He was a marine
That's how his life is defined
So next time you see a guy from the Corps
Give him the respect he deserves
Because he fought in a war

"The Insurgent"

Once upon an Iraqi morning, while I slept and was soundly snoring,
On my cot located in the room by the compound door
While I dreamt, dreamt of looting, suddenly there was some shooting
As of some one lightly shooting, shooting at our compound door
..'Tis some insurgent,' I muttered, ..shooting at our compound door -
Only this, and nothing more.'

I remember I was placing, bets on Iraqi camel racing
And each separate empty casing wrought its memory on the sand.
Eagerly I wished to be; - away from Baghdad A-S-A-P
I picked out my MRE- Pork with rice in BBQ
For the dumb and stupid pogues who make pork and rice in BBQ
Disgusting even though it's new.

And the closing loud uncertain shooting of each tracer bullet
Thrilled me - filled me with fantastic terrors never felt before;
So that now, to still the beating of my heart, I stood repeating
..'Tis some insurgent shooting blindly at our compound door-
Some dumb insurgent shooting blindly at our compound door; -
This it is, and nothing more,'

Presently my hate grew stronger; hesitating then no longer,
..You!' said I, ..insurgent, truly your destruction I implore;
So I went to go and get my gun, I wanted to go have some fun
And so I went out violently shooting, shooting out my compound door
There he died, there's no refuting, no more shooting at our compound door
And so foolish you came shooting, shooting at our compound door,
That I shot, and was happy you died – here I closed the compound door
Darkness there, and nothing more

"I Love You Kristen"

Kristen Locke was an army wife
Her and Chris had a newborn child
They had the perfect life
Until the call came that Chris would have to leave
They cried and cried for hours
It was also Christmas Eve
Chris left on Christmas Day
He kissed his family goodbye
Then he walked away
He would be gone for more than a year
Kristen was scared to death
She had so much to fear
She had to raise their daughter, Brittany, alone
But what kept her going
Were Chris' letters and the smell of his cologne
6 months had passed and Chris was still gone
He loved seeing the pictures
that his daughter had drawn
One day came, and he had a mission
He had a bad feeling
But he quickly dismissed it
That day was their anniversary, June twenty-third
"I love you, Kristen"
Were his final words
Kristen was playing with Brittany on the floor
When she heard car doors slamming
and a knock on the door
Her heart beating, she opened it slowly
It was Chaplain Addams
and Colonel Foley
"Chris was killed in action", Colonel Foley said
They tried to comfort her
But she cried and screamed instead
'His last words were 'I love you Kristen'" Chaplain Addams consoled
That only made Kristen
sob out of control
At Arlington Cemetery, Christopher Locke was laid.
They talked about his life
And all the friends he had made
Because of people like Chris, the flag's stripes are red
We need to respect soldiers
For us, they bled
American soldiers put their lives on the line
Just so we can be free
And live our lives

"Agony"

I wake up in sweat,
grab my gun.
But it didnt occur to me
that it was only a dream.
I go through this every day,
rewatch it in my head...
See my best friends
get blown to pieces by IEDs.
I can see their faces
right before they got hit.
I'll always remember
what happened that day.
I want to know,
want to know why I didn't die with them...
Why was I spared
and they died a horrible death?
It makes no sense,
why did this happen to me?
Now I have to live without them,
but still see their faces every night.
There's no way to stop this...
No drugs can heal me...
The bad memories always come back...
To haunt me for ever
I reach for my gun,
load one in the chamber.
I can't live like this anymore,
it's got to end.
But something stops me...
I hear steps...
The steps of my daughter
walking up the stairs.
I can't leave her here,
leave her fatherless.
I put the gun away
and try to live through this agony.


Thousands of people, both citizen and military personnel, suffer from PTSD...or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Around 58,000 men died in Vietnam. Estimates say that around 200,000 Vietnam war vets have committed suicide...most of them suffered from PTSD. We need to be aware of what this means. We have men and women coming home from Iraq and Afghanistan who have seen things that are truly unimaginable. Alot of them will suffer from PTSD in the years to come. Some have already ended their lives. We need to pray for these people...

"Old Glory Still Flies"

It has been through so much
Yet she continues to wave
She flies on flagpoles
And over soldier's graves

Bravery and courage is what make the stripes red
It also represents those who have fought and bled

Purity makes the other stripes white
She's been through so much, but continues to fight

Perseverance and justice cause the field of stars to be blue
We represent freedom, and will continue to

With American patriots, she went to war
They won our freedom, and she still soars

She flew over the Union in the Civil War
But she belonged to the country that both sides fought for

World War I, she went to battle again
She remains free because of the sacrifice of those men

Then disaster struck, the economy died
But she conquered the Depression, and continues to fly

World War II, we were at it again
She was the inspiration to our American men

In Korea she flew proud and tall
The men under her answered the call

Vietnam was a different story
Though others opposed the war, they fought for Old Glory

In the Gulf War, on Kuwait's sand
She repelled the evil, and took the stand

Mogadishu, Somalia in '93
"No man left behind" was the resolute decree

Then in 2000, the USS Cole
Strengthened our resolve, and made us whole

We can't forget the attack in 2001
But she flew over the rubble, a new era's begun

So the Stars and the Stripes along with The Man
Rallied the troops and came up with a plan
They yelled out a war cry and pounded their gut
Then went to Afghanistan and kicked some terrorist butt

And for the last great crusade, the War in Iraq
We will support the troops, "Until they all come back"

And whatever comes next, whether major or petty
America's watching, and Old Glory is ready