Unproud Warrior

September the second, two thousand seventeen That's your discharge date, etched in your soul It's been nearly two years now, gone by so fast Like the fast food restaurants they built while you were away Pull into the drive-thru, speak into a box Discard the paper wrappers when you're through These people can't comprehend the choices you made So you don't tell them a thing Unproud warrior Unproud warrior Unproud warrior You made your house your own Some blame their actions on their government It's all orders for these lily-white comrades They hang up their guns on a nail of rosewater And participate in their grandson's parade But you know you had more choices than they let on A soldier is not a cog, but a man, like any other These thoughts you revisit every time you turn on a movie And see a depiction that is far from your own experience Unproud warrior Unproud warrior Unproud warrior You made your choice alone You were only seventeen when you enlisted, you remember SE Hinton wrote The Outsiders when she was just fifteen Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein when she was nineteen At twenty-three, Stephen Crane published The Red Badge Of Courage Which is still known as one of the most realistic depictions of war Even though Crane was born after the Civil War ended Maybe sentiments of regret are not all that unrelatable You've always taken lengths to be aware of your own choice Unproud warrior Unproud warrior Unproud warrior You built your house alone Unproud warrior Unproud warrior Unproud warrior You made your house your own