Purple Heart

Red blood waits to be tested
As he signs the white page
With the blue pen
An invisible manacle chains a hand over his heart
As his feet march to the rhythm of "G.I. Joe"
And a machine gun spits bullets
In time with typewriter keys
Clacking
He pushes a blade down the throat of a man
He's never met before
And he cuts his wrists in the bathroom at the parade
Under the banner that says "Welcome Home"
Under the eye of the eagle that screams,
"Thank you for your service"
And his life pools out on the floor
With every beat of his purple heart
As he bleeds
Red, white and blue,
Red, white and blue