Duty, honour, country

With steeled heart and hardened face,
I walked away at an even pace,
Head never turning, pace never slowing,
Even as tears brought my will dissolving.

“Sorry love that I have to go,
This path is for me, yes I know.”
Duty and honour, may they be with me,
For you I can no longer see.

My country I could not let down,
My duty I could not put down.
For their sake we have to part,
The end is always a new start.

Rifle in hand I went and went,
Having to live in a tent,
Shooting and being shot at,
In muddy trenches I sat.

My luck held out over the days,
Not a scratch was all I could say.
I would make it, yes I would.
The luck should hold, yes it should.

As I lay bleeding,
The life from me seeping,
“Sorry my darling,
I am dying.”

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You said you would be back, that you cannot bear to leave me behind.
You said you would be back, with your letters you constantly remind.
You said you would be back, saying that to us God would be kind.
You said you would be back, for me to this world you would be bind.
Yet where are you now, that clock of yours each day I would wind.
Yet where are you now, horrible thoughts keep coming back to mind.
Yet where are you now, your body they were never able to find.
Yet where are you now, how could you bear to be ever so unkind?

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This was written way back... probably 1999 or 2000. I forgot what inspired me to write this, but it was probably some war movie.