Hero

Hero

I work like you
just as you till the land
dig the sand
break stones
clear the hills
cut the wood
or the trees
or the hit the hammer
hard on the anvil
to soften the iron sheet
or take the bricks
from the cast
and fire them for the street
I work like you
all for money
the money that will warm the hearth
back at home
the money that will buy
milk for the toddler
ration for the kitchen
that will pay the school fee
and the carriage
that takes my child to school
or the power bills
that keep my house lit in the dark
I work like you
all for money
you at your place
me at my place
they call me soldier
in camouflage
the country
the nation
the patriot
all come later
first comes the face of my child
then her mother
and then my mother
whom I left worried
back at home

They say I guard the country
they say, I serve the nation
they say, the nation is proud of me
they say, I am hero
they say I am great
these things sound better
for the applause
or for the books
misnomers they are
But I know
I serve the orders
obey the commands
as demanded by commander
I hear the words ‘fire’
and I don’t know what it is
my benumbed finger becomes hard
on the trigger
I don’t know what happens
I work and I know
I have to work
there is no other way
except to work.