Today a whole country stands up in your remembrance
Most of you were barely 20 years old
We lament your death and hail you heros
The siren sounds, but I won’t stand
I won’t stand in the name of murder
And I won’t stand in the name of the lies you were told
You did not die for me
That’s a lie
For which you stood
18 years old with a gun aimed
At a child, at an old man, at a pregnant woman
This is what you stood for, whether you knew it or not
Manipulated into thinking killing is right
But even if you did kill
How can I blame you?
There are powers greater than you
And they controlled your life
As they control your death
As they control your memory
A memory bastardized of truth
So that other children will become good murderers, too
You will be remembered as a hero
So will your son
So will his son
All remembered as heros
All dead before 20
Was it worth it?
A whole country will stand in your honor
As the policy makers dance on your grave
In the hall of fame they call a military cemetery
Poems will be written, telling of your great heroism
In the face of true terror
…
The face of a child
But you were a child, too
It is no lie when they say
You "were picked at bloom"
You were
But it’s not your death that took your soul
It was the lies you were told
You were told you are a hero
That’s a lie
You were told you are defenseless
That’s a lie
You were told "it is good to die for our country"
That’s a lie
This land is not worth your life
It will bury you anyway
These people are not worth your life
If you tell them that, they will bury you anyway
This state is not worth your life
They will lie and smile and bury you anyway
And as they lower you to the ground
They will burry the truth along with you
Another hero
Another shut mouth
Another testimony that we are fighting for our lives
Another tear-jerking song to play on this day
Another knee-jerk reaction to grief
Another flower, picked in its bloom
Another boy becomes a killer
Another truth buried in blood
They want me to stand up in unison
But I have my own ways to mourn
This is your eulogy
It’s the only honest one you’ll ever get:
In the country you died for
Death becomes a cycle on its own
It doesn’t need life to interrupt
You were dead and buried when you were stillborn
Brain dead
Heart buried
Through no fault of your own
I pity you
You never had a chance to repent
And feel what it means to be free
I pity you
You’ll never know the true reason you died
Or fathom what your death is being used for
I pity you
You will be remembered a murderer and oppressor
You and an SS man will conjure nightmares in children’s sleep
I pity you
As they stand in your honor
I sit with my head in my hands
As they remember you
I remember your victims
I pity you