Among candles so peaceful and prayers at night
Among trophies of war and romantic campfires
Children read storybooks, yearning strongly to fight
And resenting the smallness of their desires.

Children always dislike
being less than grownups
So we fought black and blue,
insults flew far and wide

Mothers mended the clothes
and engaged in cleanups
While we swallowed books,
drunk on letters inside.

Foreheads sweated with effort, the eyelids would swell
Phrases lifted the heart and it soared up high
And the odor of battle came off like a spell
From the pages whose echo was warriors’ cry

Never knowing of war
we attempted to learn
How the howl is so different
from trumpeter’s call

How the orders are given
and honor is earned
How the chariots ram
through the infantry wall.

In the boiling cauldrons of wars and revolts
So much fodder for childish brains of ours
So in games we forever and ever resolved
To appoint our rivals as cowards and liars.

Never letting the trail
of the scoundrel turn cold
We committed to love
and protect ladies fair

And imagined ourselves
to be heroes so bold
Pulling comrades and strangers
from depths of despair

But escaping to fantasy cannot go on
Time for play is so short, so much pain all around
Prying open the palms of the warriors gone
Take the sword and continue to gain your ground

While the sword is still warm,
hold it well and secure
Test the stuff you are made
of as fast you as you can

Test the sum of adversity
you can endure
Taste the meaning of words
"taking it like a man"

When your friend will be shot and collapse next to you
When you howl in sorrow like never before
You will feel like the wound has reopened anew
Because him and not you will not rise anymore.

You will then realize,
understand and perceive
How a slit in the visor
can hide ghastly grin

Lies and evil, repulsive
and hard to conceive
While the vultures are waiting
to rip through your skin.

If you fought your way through with inherited sword
If you cried bitter tears in personal hell
If integrity served you the greatest reward
Than the books of your childhood guided you well

If you never had rations
from soldiers’ canteen
If you folded your arms
and observed from afar

Never entered the fray,
kept your shoelaces clean
Then your life passed you by
never leaving a scar