Scars Within

From the book Tears of Ink, by LCDR Roberto J. Prinselaar

Scars Within

The bloody scars within my mind
That open now and then
Let loose the ancient memories
And I'm at war again

It's like a movie worn with age
With all the actors once well known
But now I only see a few
For the rest I cry and moan

For they're the ones that bled and died
And left me with my scars
And I wonder just how many more
Live thinking of their ghostly friends
That died in forgeign wars

Death

Death
By LCDR Roberto J Prinselaar
From the book, Tears of Ink

I think of death and its rewards
Forever peace without doupt
Or will it bring my strife renewed
Or is it the way out

I'm not allowed to seek my death
In that I have no voice
My God will take me That I know
In that I have no choice

My life has not been without sin
But not without regret
So many things were not the best
And evil I have met

Oh God, my God, Please hear my prayer
Please let me live in peace
Please take away the awful hurts
And let my troubles cease

Wounds Of War

From the book Tears of Ink, by LCDR Roberto J. Prinselaar, U.S. Coast Guard (ret)

Wounds Of War

Some wounds of war

Are never seen

They're buried deep within

No open wound

No Purple heart

No blemish on the skin

But these are wounds

That leave a scar

Upon our very soul

They tear our hearts

Cause misery

And take a heavy toll

Our bloodless wounds

Cause us to ask

Oh God, what was it for

We go through life

Not knowing why

We have these wounds of war

Veterans Day 1999

A Poem from the book Tears Of Ink, written by LCDR Roberto J. Prinselaar

Veterans Day 1999

This week the flags will wave again
We'll march down a city street
We'll try to keep the cadence
With grown old two left feet

We're veterans who have served our land
In places far and wide
Today we will be smiling
We won't show the hurt inside

The land that we all fought for
Is changing day by day
The people just don't seem to care
As their freedoms slip away

The Constitution was once sacred
A document held dear
Our founding fathers gave to us
A message once so clear

Now lying is accepted
And other things as bad
But we will show our smiles today
Pretend that we are glad


We will be with our brothers
And yes our sisters too
We, ones who wore the uniform
And kept our honor true

We fought to to keep this country free
Were our battles all in vain
My land, My country 'Tis of thee
Can we be free again

Me

Written by LCDR Roberto J. Prinselaar
From the Book "Tears of Ink"

"Me"

For years and years I really did
Keep all my bad thoughts safely hid

Those bad-assed memories tucked away
If someone asked, I wouldn't say

A real tough bastard, that was me
No one could touch me, can't you see

The past was past and buried deep
And only sometimes I couldn't sleep

The first years were hard, a real bitch
Like I was doing another hitch

I drank alot and went through hell
My fucked up life wasn't doing well

All this went on ten years or so
I wasn't dead, so more to go

I saw a doctor once, a shrink
A real know nothing civvie dink

I felt forgotten and alone
There just was no one in my zone

That's when I built my private wall
I shut my mind, and fuck'em all

I could face the world with no fear
I kept a pistol always near

Now that was one thing I could trust
Some fire power a real must

I really straightened up my life
With lots of help from my dear wife

I told her nothing, to be sure
Why take the chance without a cure

And then one day I saw the wall
Upon my life it cast a pall

But another vet said "Welcome Back"
My solid wall began to crack

It was then, I dared to cry
My prior years were just a lie

I had to face my times in hell
Another vet, someone to tell

I'm going to climb this goddamn hill
It may be steep and I may fall
But in the end, I'll tell it all

LCDR Roberto J. Prinselaar

Submitted by Sarge