THE WALL AROUND US

We were young and carefree way back then,

For excitement and adventure we had a great yen.

Ready to answer our country's call,

For freedoms sake we would give our all.

 

Fighting 'gainst tyranny in any shape or form,

The call to arms was for us the norm.

We upheld the tradition of our forefathers so proud,

But when we returned, we were shunned by the crowd.

 

For us there was no welcome home,

We were shut out and left all alone.

Our country abandoned us and let us fall,

So around us we built a bloody great wall.

 

Some made of stone, some made of steel,

Although you can't see them, to us they're quite real.

We thought the enemy was in a faraway place,

A soldier like us, one we could face.

 

But when we came home to familiar ground,

We found the real foe was all around.

The horrors we went through, we could never share,

Nobody would listen, they just didn't care.

 

So we shut down our feelings and built a great wall,

To hide our emotions and fears from all.

Yes we built a great wall around us,

To keep back the foe who surround us.

 

They forgot it was they who sent us, be we never will,

So we built a wall around us and for many it remains there still.

 

Lee O'Neill - 25 June 1998