A Thousand Cuts – A Poem for Our Defence Forces

By Alisha Shukla

Soldiering on everyday,
With one goal in mind,
Walking side-by-side,
Their fates intertwined.

Working night and day, 
Behind the desk and on the battlefield, 
They will have their heads cut, 
But they will never kneel.

Giving up precious moments, 
With family and friends 
They go to the fight,
Dangling between life and its end.

Tasting the bitter, coppery tang 
Of their blood and others
Children lose their parents, 
And sons are lost on mothers.

The scars on their body
Match the ones on their soul
They may be the alive ones,
But they are not whole.

Healing is another battle,
One with their soul
But they are anything but cowards
They will come out whole.

The spirit of trust and determination to serve, 
Was what kept them going 
On the worst of days,
They are comrades, brothers in arms,
They help each other in innumerable ways.

The cuts will always be there
Sometimes a pinching memory,
But no one ever said
That this life will be flowery.

They are soldiers, doctors, engineers and more
Of our defence forces,
They are a force to be reckoned with,
They avert life’s courses.

They bleed a thousand cuts,
Every minute every day
But they have a spirit too strong to be broken,
And steel strong guts.

They will go to death’s door,
If it means others are safe,
They bleed a thousand cuts, 
And they prevent a thousand more.