Earl R. Watkins II

WHY I DO WHAT I DO

My family sits wondering at home,
I lay in an unknown field all alone
Hidden from all by camouflage;
Fighting for this dirty cause.

I see my doomed target;
I’ll hit him, on that you can bet.
I look at him through the scope.
Did I miss? Nope.

As he falls to the ground with a thud
I lay hiding in the mud.
I know they wonder from whence it came
But mission complete, all the same.

A few hours pass and then a few more;
My muscles ache they feel so sore.
I hear some brush crunch under foot –
They’ll never find me hidden in this soot.

All I can think is, “I wish I were home”
I stay calm as threw the grass they comb.
I think of ill Johnny and it brings a small grin.
I’m so happy to have all my kin.

I then think of my young daughter Suzy.
The thought of death no longer makes me woozy.
I am a killer for a greater law
As a husband, father – I fight this war.

The sky becomes dark and the sun fades away,
I make my way out to kill another day.
Then back at base I’m debriefed
before I can go home and be dismissed.

I don’t do it for the cause;
I don’t do it to enforce the laws;
Not for the government or the army;
If that’s what you though, then I’m sorry.

It’s so at the end of the day I can go home,
And I, like others, don’t have to be alone.