Why Not Me?

Why did you take my friend away from me?
They had loved ones and a family.
Why did my friend have to die in my arms?
They had so much yet to live for.
Why did they have to be the one to go?
They had a strong courageous heart.
Why did it have to be today that they die?
They had so many dreams left to fulfill.
Why could it not have been me instead?

Copyright ©2004-2005 Countess Demetria

Dedicated to all of the men and women in
the U.S. Military. Past, Present, and Future.

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What I was thinking when I wrote the poem "Why Not Me?"
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I could see in my mind a Soldier holding his bleeding friend in his arms as he says his last words and takes his last breath. With all the odds against him, he felt he should have been the one to die instead of his friend. His heart brakes as his friend's eyes go still, and his pulse is no more. He looks up to see his friend's spirit go into the light. He knows that tomorrow that might be him, but wishes at that moment he could trade places with his friend. He is looking at death in the face as he is talking, before death takes his friend.

I thought of the people as being men, but it could be a man and a woman soldier or two women soldiers. I wrote it so it could be either man or woman. I wrote it so it isn't restrictive to one sex or type of person. People can interpret it to mean what is in their hearts to them. It could be any person dying in a friends arms, not necessarily just a soldier.