A Hero
By: Ezekiel Gonzales
When you chose to lay your weapon down,
I was baffled;
we had fought for what’s felt like a millennia
Killing our brothers—like savages
rabid with a contagious disease
“Slaughter thy enemy!”
But, we’re all the same
Fighting the noble cause
“Justice for all!”
Murder
Yes, we know
Nothing is just Black
Nothing is just White
What happened to the Gray?
When did I become my own enemy?
When you chose to lay your weapon down,
I was relieved;
no longer are you a moving target, just one to the heart
Seeing you so close, is this what your family saw?
I want—
I need to look away from such a sight
We’re only pretending to know,
to be good;
“I am not the Bad Guy!”
They said it too,
what makes us so different—the right words
When you chose to lay your weapon down,
I was scared;
what did that mean for me?
Killing a bad guy—a human, where is the “Good” in me
Falling to my knees,
I dare not look up
What Hero am I giving up like this
How could you have blinded yourself as to not see;
Too much Black, too much White
Ignoring the Gray
There are no heroes in this story
