We See

Money for your missiles,

A billion for another floating beauty,

Billions for bombers and AI,

But none for corporals on duty.

Politicians take their pictures

With some PFC who lost an arm,

Spread that picture around,

The voters for to charm.

But the PFC still has no arm,

And his buddies are still in the fight,

And money gets spent on stupid things,

On the fighting they shine no light.

Politicians all have brilliant ideas

What new wars to wage,

At all sorts of new injustices

They can stand up and rage.

They make sure that some special group

Gets special help and special pay,

Easy jobs in garrison,

Can’t deploy, at home they stay.

But when it all hits the fan,

They call us heroes and such,

Give each a medal,

Pretend to thank us very much.

But they’re terrible careful

Who’s fightin’ and getting dead,

Isn’t their kids, their friends,

They’re still home in their own bed.

Billions for folks who don’t do nuthin’,

Folks who never risk their blood,

Never lost a friend in the night,

What about grunt corporals caked in mud?

Caked in mud and dog tired,

Or still at sea – for another month or three

Deployments that never seem to end,

While their kids are working on some worthless degree.

Fights that have no real name,

While politicians for pet projects beg,

No one in Washington gives a damn ‘bout us,

But a good friend just lost his leg.

They’ll call him a hero,

Take a picture, shake his hand,

Then forget about him and move on,

After claiming they understand.

But no one cares about the Sailors,

Or the Soldiers and Marines and all,

The guys who are actually doing the work.

The guys who are manning the wall.

‘Cause out there, there are bad folks,

And someone needs to be on guard,

But someone who mans the parapet

Shouldn’t be so easy to discard.

He sees folks living in hotels for free,

Rooms he couldn’t afford on private’s pay,

Politicians defending folks who loot,

While he lies in the mud all day.

Missiles being shot at his ship,

While admirals and generals sip white wine,

The big brains don’t know how to end these messes,

But give us another month on the line.

They like to call us all sorts of names,

Call us racists, part of some fascist machine,

But we’re the ones fighting for freedom,

And the only color in a foxhole is green.

So you can talk all your big talk,

Vote billions more for each bad idea,

But someday this may all catch up,

We won’t be willing to go to Korea.

We love our country and our families,

From all across this great land,

And we were willing to sacrifice,

Even if it meant dying in the sand.

We love all our brothers in arms,

Never much cared about their religion or race,

But somehow we’re the bad guys

Because we all the flag embrace.

They keep saying we should be free to love,

Whoever or whatever we please,

But they don’t like what the Grunts love,

Treat them like they got some disease.

Whatever it is the politicians love,

And the jocks and stars and wags,

It isn’t the same country that we cherish,

It isn’t our history or our flag.

It is true that we are gullible,

And we let them do with us as they please,

But that is going to end some day,

You bet that we can see.

We will do what we do,

For family, for friends, for the nation,

But ain’t gonna do a damned thing for them,

They have become a stain upon creation.

You keep expecting us to fight and die,

As you and yours do what you please,

And you keep saying we’re in the wrong,
Well, you bet that we can see.

Copyright 2024 Arrias
www.vicsocotra.com