Pride Shines Through The Grime
Wrote this for Veterans Day a few years ago. Back then it was kind of late but I didn’t want to waste the poem or sentiment so I posted it anyway. Now I’m posting it again here. Thanks for reading. Originally posted this in November 2022.
Pride Shines Through The Grime
By: A.X. Bueno
There is a lot of baggage that comes with titles like veteran or soldier
You’re balancing the reputation of both your country and yourself on your shoulders
And of course that’s technically nothing new but still there’s plenty that has changed
As a lot of people’s feelings on this country have been rearranged, patriot and jingoism defanged
In a way that’s a bit different than times before
As we’ve gained new sources of brutal history and information and longer, harsher ways of war
So of course that affects the way we see the military too
Though I think it’s important to consider what these changes also put those who serve through
There’s a lot of complex stories and those who you’d find disagree with plenty of the terrible decisions and the wars if asked
Many joined just to try to get by in this unfair and are typically stuck with what they are tasked
Of course that doesn’t mean they don’t also criticize the war machine they’re stuck in
Or that we can’t as well
It’s important to consider some soldiers might be dealing/dealt with several angles of hell
From an uncaring government, their own communities and what service did to them too
Though that isn’t the case for every person, depends on who they are and what they’ve been through
The military can provide for those who’ve been missing something or just never had a lot
Also consider that there’s more jobs than just the ones on the battlefield
Not everyone in the military is directly involved in every one of the powerful’s wars or plots
Some work more behind the scenes and try to live life off base before their eventual deployment
There can be plenty of difficult or grimy parts to a veteran’s life for sure
But if they can overcome those parts a certain level of pride and enjoyment that can be found
It’s definitely not an easy life though the difficulties again can depend on what you experience and who you are
So I think we can appreciate those who managed to stand above and still criticize the troubling machinations of the military’s dirtier workings and war
I’d say it’s important to recognize the veteran’s who struggled and acknowledge what’s deserved
Plenty deserve better, for all they’ve been put through and what some have been denied they deserve more
And there are also plenty of soldiers right now you could argue deserve that too
But let the veteran’s have their day which is the least they are due