Melanie C. Campos ~ MahTame

DEDICATED TO THE WARRIOR

Upon seeing the bravery,
The strength, the might,
The courage of what was spoken of in the duties of war,
The warrior, full of spirit and pride,
Showing to the spectator of who he is,
a Kiowa, a T’ow-Kow-Ghat Warrior.

Upon holding back the tears,
The warrior fought with himself of showing the deep grief he carries,
Relating to his native people of the greatness of a young warrior
Whose young life was taken abruptly from an enemy of war…

Can the river wash away those tears?
Is the sea grand enough to carry his deep-seated mourning,
he has kept inside for many years?

Upon watching this warrior wanting to express of the war he fought in was real,
the sacrifices he made… a remembrance, perhaps, too, of his young adulthood self,
and innocent to the horrors of the war he was about to experience;
Going off to a foreign land,
Far, far, far away from the comforts of his people,
Far from the comforts of his family.

Upon seeing the covered-up pain he kept so buried all these years,
Having to silent the chaos and perils of combat,
Burying the deep, disquieting images of what is to be hidden
so as not to lose the warrior bravery!
Wanting to shed many tears, desiring to truly mourn what was lost,
losing loved ones, friends, family, other warriors killed,
But for much more, to mourn for his own soul,

The warrior has been exposed to the damaging effects and terror of war.
Only the warrior knows what he has seen, heard, or smelled and tasted, or felt.
The warrior lives with the traumatic, terrifying images of what he saw,
Wishing and hoping peace will truly come,
to quiet the disquieting thoughts,
to hush the screams he heard,
to make the graphic, intense scenes be erased from his memory…

No, my dear warrior,
no one can say the war you fought was not real,
No, my dear warrior,
no one can say you never experienced what was so very traumatic and horrific,
No, my dear warrior,
you will always carry with you the love and pride you have for your people.

But, my dear warrior,
one day, the peace will come to you and release you
from all the cruelty and ugliness of the war that has buried itself deeply within you.

Author’s Note: Dedicated to, and in Honor of Blas Preciado, Jr., Vietnam Veteran, 3rd Battalion, 27th Marines, H&S Company.

Dedicated to the Warrior