not on my watch

the quiet prayers of war
do solemnly fill my mind
as mortars fall...hot fragments fly
prayers to see those left behind

my silent screams of anguish
do echo within my head
as bullets rip...tear through flesh
a flower blooms venetian red

two more white blooms quickly now
do move to slow the leaving
as souls do drift...on river styx
in to Hell I go retrieving

the quiet prayers of war
are raging through my mind
I slit a throat...to save a life
this soul to take has been declined

the pulse of war at full tilt
I close my eyes and pray
as rotors thump...debris cuts flesh
I say goodbye and draw away