Premise: A soldier pledges his allegiance to his country in exchange for its emotional and financial support. In the end, this story is not about a single soldier but rather a concept that is the foundation of a great country.
I am a soldier I cannot lie
I fight for my country, our way of life
I fight so others may never know strife
I don’t engage in politics
I don’t have the luxury to think too far ahead
For fear that while I may awaken, I would be dead
My focus is my mission, my brothers, my men
I think of them again and again
Those both alive and those now dead
When this is over I have hopes and fears
To be spared the jeers faced by my Vietnam war peers
Yet I worry my country will forget me in my time of need
Leaving me too little even to feed
Or worse yet, left on its doorstep to bleed
I fight without question
I execute without suggestion
I fight to preserve American liberty and freedom
I’m a good soldier, a loyal soldier, an effective soldier
If I may, it is here I will stay
Yet at times I wish to run from the front lines
To flee when it feels as if I’m fighting only for me
I stuff those feelings deep under
And execute my next mission with shattering thunder
Ordered to secure a large city block
We leap into action with fear and shock
Feelings suppressed knowing we are the best
Missiles scream, shrapnel is seen searching for flesh
Automatic gunfire drums in my head filling me with blood lust and dread
We advance, crouched chin nearly to knee
We are soldiers, no one thinks to flee
My brother takes a hit, ripping through his throat
His body spasms, pivots, slumping directly into me
Face to face, mouth near mouth
He expels his final breath, it’s stale, just as I inhale
Taking in the final living part of him
On his last breath, I taste his death
I settle him gently to the ground then continue my mission, feeling no contrition
I am Soldier Skye may god forgive and my country enable me to live
I kill my fellow man, I readily admit
This is no cause to quit
I do so with a purpose I believe is right
For me, this justifies the fight
Yet in doing so we both must know
I act in partnership with my country
A battalion, regiment, platoon or squad – each determines individual fate
But we are just men bound to each other and the American state
I am Soldier Skye and I pray my country will not lie
Will America be there for me should I lose an eye
It is our contract
We both must comply
Don’t forget me America when I return to your shore
Tell me America that for me there can be so much more
I have sacrificed for you and seen far too much gore
Now is your time America
To honor me and our brothers who are no more
I look to the sky in search of my lord
One who can provide me a crossing ford
When my end is near
I will approach hell’s gate without fear
I trust I’ll depart with pride
Believing my country could never have lied
But Soldier Skye is not one man
But all those who fight and die
All the faces, all the names
All the families who live in pain
Solider Skye is all that is right each time we fight
Right with our women
Right with our men
Right with our country
I can never die, for I am, Soldier Skye
I AM America
