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Peace Speaks From the Mirror (poem)

By Dennis Serdel

War is not a DVD
to eat some pizza, drink some beers
and pause the war to take a pee.
War is a Soldier in a dark room all alone
you can not see his tears
because he hides them.
Those who think they know of war
can never watch the Soldier weep.
A Soldier has a war on his TV
recorded in his brain, filmed by emotions
edited with pills
so he can live like normal people do.
There are no fast clips
of the dead, the wounded
the Soldier must keep seeing them
the rest of his life.
But some nights he holds a pistol
to his head, his finger on the trigger
looking into a mirror
that speaks to him of peace.
"Think of your wife and children,
your suicide will hurt them
throughout their lives,
a life of emotions and tears,
you could never hurt them more."
So he puts the gun down
like he has done before
and peace speaks from the mirror
and reminds him once again,
See, you are filled with love now,
I'll see you if you need me,
like if a thousand white moths
turn into crosses on a hillside
as the war comes back to you
for coming back without them."

—Dennis Serdel
VVAW - Perry, Michigan