WHEN WILL OUR TROOPS GIVE US WHAT IT TAKES TO WIN THIS WAR?
(an original poem by an unknown Vietnam Veteran)

If I could give them eyes to see - past profits from a war
Perhaps Iraq could then be free - to live, just like before
Perhaps they'd see it clear as day - by seeing their own child
blowing other peoples' kids away - in conflict, now gone wild

If I could give them ears to hear - the muffled cries at night
Perhaps they'd listen to the fear - of missiles taking flight
Perhaps they'd hear a mothers' cry - weeping for her son
who bought into a vicious lie - which truly serves no one

If I could give them hearts to feel - the sorrow and the pain
Perhaps they'd taste the blood of death - as missions go insane
Perhaps they'd feel their bones break - when hidden bombs explode
near a child who fights for freedoms' sake - along a dusty road

If I could give them minds to think - about the greater cost
Perhaps we only win at war - when we measure what we've lost
Perhaps they'd learn, to truly win - we simply end the game
that measures score in countless death - on walls too black to name

author__________?