A Soldier's Dream

To sleep...
Perchance, to dream
Of green pastures,
A gently flowing stream,
A candle-light dinner
With loved ones at home,
But suddenly I wake,
The dream is gone,
Awake, in a place, quite far,
On hot sand in a tent,
A soldier in Iraq at war,
Within, a lingering fear
Compounded by the question:
'Why am I here?'
'Why am I here?'

Alfred Charasz
Copyright 2006 Alfred Charasz