Color of Death

As I went to a ‘war’ in a ‘peaceful’ land
Fire rumbling, shells dropping where I stand

Red was the color of my memories and dreams
Red was the sound of my silent screams

Red as the eastern sunsets when they glow
I remember how peaceful it was few years ago

Red is all I see now; all I hear and smell
Cannon fire, a bullet and a shell

Horror was all I saw on a civilian ‘battlefield’
For freedom I will die, "their" hatred revealed

I lie in the naked sun; cold with a shiver
Red was the grass, the sea and the river

Dismayed, I call for help; my 'childhood friend'
Fired the last fatal bullet that sealed my ‘end’

Max O’Reilly