Tu eris Non occides,

Thou shalt not Kill
They told me at school
To love they Neighbour
Seemed to be the rule
Then I became a soldier
Rules seemed to change
They gave me a rifle
I practiced on the range
We killed wooden images
Of Russian soldiers
The recoil of the rifle
Bruising the shoulders
Then one day it was War
Padre blessed us on the ship
We sang “Onward Christian Soldiers “
Prayed we wouldn’t get hit
So we were the good guys?
They were the bad?
We were given the green light
To kill was not so bad?
We won our War and went home
Handed back our weapons
Went home and hugged our families
Trying to ignore our nightmare demons
Back to, Thou shalt not kill
I suppose will be the rule
Until you’re Country says
Pick up that gun you fool.

© Tony McNally