The Merciful Soldier

The Merciful Soldier
Written by Raymond Lee Peltier
©2006

He begged them not to let him go
He did not want to fight;
For something he did not believe in
To kill just isn’t right.

How could they pick a boy so young
He’s barely out of school;
He told himself that he would run
He wouldn’t play their fool.

And then the crucial day did come
The time to go to war;
The young boy left home reluctantly
He would see his home no more.

He went to Iraq where terrorists ruled the land
Where he was made to know;
That he must kill the enemy
No mercy must he show.

One day while fighting the enemy, he came upon a child
He couldn’t kill this tiny boy, so he dropped his gun and smiled;
Then all at once he realized now his life was done
He felt the bullet pierce his heart, this child had shot his gun.