(TO THE TROOPS)
by Jim Bush
You may not understand why
I write what I write
You may not agree with it
You may think I'm unpatriotic
Or that I don't care
You may think
That I don't understand
Why you fight
You may think
That I don't understand
The threat
On the other hand
You may hear my words
And they may ring true to you
Perhaps you've seen the light
Maybe things have become
More clear now
Maybe now
You understand
My outrage
Maybe now
You see
How wrong it is
To send
American men and women
Into a war they can't win
Maybe now
You see
How wrong it is
To send
The pure in heart
To be corrupted by this war
Maybe now
You will believe me
When I tell you
That I have cried for you
Maybe now
You will forgive me
For caring this way
Whether you want me to
Or not
I have seen the damage of war
I have seen the damage
That even a "good war" can do
I have seen the damage
That a bad war can do
I have seen the damage
That this war has done
You may think you are fighting
For freedom
You may think you are fighting
To protect America
You may even believe
That you are fighting
For Jesus
I think you are caught
In a cross-fire
Between evil men
I think you have been duped
As many on the other side
Have been duped
I think you are a pawn
In an evil game
Of power and control
I think too many of you
Have died or been hurt
For the wrong reasons
I think too many innocents
Have died or been hurt
For no good reason at all
So I'll keep writing and crying
Even though you may hate me for it
And I'll keep protesting
Even though you think me wrong
And I'll keep caring
In my way
All the way
To the end
And if you start to hear me
Perhaps you'll choose to join me
And then, together
We can bring this bloody mess
To a final end
But
You may not understand
Jim Bush is a 60 year old, Vietnam-era veteran, currently living in Katy,Texas. He was raised in a military family. His father received the Silver Star for directing troops while under air attack at Clark Field in the Phillipines, survived the Bataan Death March, and spent three and a half years in a Japanese POW camp. He also received the Purple Heart for wounds received while a POW. Jim served as an army photographer in Okinawa and Korea. In 1987 he traveled to the war zones of Nicaragua with a veteran's group dedicated to stopping the Contra War.
