The forgotten ones

He returned home a hero
fought gallantly
brave
for his country
sleepless nights
spent under a shower of mortar
he used to like the way it lit up the night
never once thinking of life
his life
saved friends
and strangers from death
risked death
all to avoid the death of someone else
with nameless faces
inventing names for them—
just so he could feel human
returned home to a street lined crowd
cheering
ribbons and medals pinned to his chest
remembered his mates
buried—
in foreign soil when it was all too much
to piece them back together
pine box wrapped with our flag
and sent to the family
who couldn't even say their last goodbye
to an empty box
he returned home a hero
a battered shell
a skeleton
of lost youth
and wished to disappear