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A Warriors Psalm from Vietnam (poem)

By Sgt. Charles F. Harrienger, Jr.

Take hold weary warrior,
We who sense your doubt
Take hold for your recovery
Is what our's about.
I know well the horror
the truth of that been said;
An empty consolation
If spoken to the dead!
I can only promise you
you must stay alive,
To realize the purpose
Of soldiers who survive.
Yes, we're all expendable;
a maddening hopeless state.
To give up though a greater sin;
to self-capitulate.
We warriors know the dues of war;
a burden quite enough.
We need you now to hear this cry:
"Of death I've had enough!"
The burden of your private hell
is only painful now;
A psychic exorcism:
A purging you must allow.
It doesn't mean you're going mad
and here is the litmus test:
The wicked never know your pain
So dude, give it a rest.
The challenge now, to stay alive,
keep that first! Protected.
And day by day to face the ways
we all have been affected.
The newness of the pain you feel
The anguish of your soul,
As broken as you might feel now,
You'll once again be whole.
I don't suggest the sorrow and
the sadness won't return
But the crippling desperation
Will teach you to discern.
The passion you young warriors feel
Has you doubt your worth,
You've already died 1000 deaths
It's time now for rebirth.

—Sgt. Charles F. Harrienger, Jr.