The Wounds of War. Gary Blinco

      

      The Wounds of War

      By

      Gary Blinco

      Second Edition

      Copyright Gary Blinco 2005

      Published by Zeus Publications 2005 http:/www.zeus-publications.com P.O. Box 2554

      Burleigh MDC Qld 4220

      Australia

      Published for the Internet by eBookIt.com

       http://www.eBookIt.com

      First edition published by Seaview Press 2000

      Edited by: Mary Weaver

      All Rights Reserved

      ISBN13: 978-1-4566-0032-7

      National Library of Australia Listing: Blinco,G.

      The Wounds of War

      No part of this book may be reproduced in any form, by photocopying or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage or retrieval systems, without permission in writing from both the copyright owner and the publisher of this book.

      This is a work of fiction and any resemblance to any persons living or dead is purely coincidental.

      About the author

      Gary Blinco is a Vietnam Veteran, having completed two tours of duty as an infantry soldier after being conscripted during the National Service era of the sixties and early seventies. This is his second book and he has two further novels for release soon.

      While his work to date has been largely about soldiering and the Vietnam War, his writing shows a deep insight into the human condition and deals with personal relationships, including conflict and romance, which provides a solid balance for the harshness of military combat.

      Gary works in sales and marketing in the financial services industry and lives on the central coast of New South Wales.

      You can visit his Web site at: www.gary-blinco- books.webcentral.com.au

      Dedication

      This book is dedicated to those who continue to hurt, nursing the wounds of war, long after the last soldier sleeps.

      Also by Gary Blinco

      Down a Country Lane - Published by Zeus Publications

      Under the Harvest Moon - Published by Zeus Publications

      A novel set during the first bulk wheat harvest on the Darling Downs in 1957. Relationships, romance and murder in a simple rural community in a time of prosperity and change.

      The Mystical Swagman – Published by Zeus Publications

      Set in early colonial Australia, Brennan is an orphan who goes on the Wallaby Track about the bush with two old swagmen. As he grows to manhood he gains mystical powers and a collection of strange companions.

      A Place in Time – Published by Zeus Publications

      Acknowledgments

      I wish to thank my family for their patience and tolerance as I sat for hours at the keyboard whenever the story flowed and my military comrades (you know who you are), who gave me the experience to make a work like this possible.

      Thanks to Mary Weaver for editing the manuscript.

      Disclaimer

      This story is entirely fictitious, the events described, and the characters depicted never existed, except in the imagination of the author.

      Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. Any relationship to similar events that may have occurred is also coincidental.

      The Wounds of War

      Old soldier can you tell me,

      Why you’ve lost the gentle touch?

      That bloomed like desert flowers after rain,

      And the dreams you dreamed so sweetly,

      While they spurred your heart so much,

      Seem broken now and blackened by your pain.

      Forget the war they say, the past is over,

      The wrongs of yesterday will slip away.

      Time heals the deepest wounds, at last forever,

      And your pain recedes behind another day.

      But I’ll be here beside you,

      When you wake up with the dawn

      And I’ll hold you if the night becomes too long.

      Each day I’m searching deeper,

      For the one I knew so well,

      When youth was ours and simple pleasures grew,

      All the joys of life were sweeter,

      Where hopes and dreams could dwell,

      And a future free of war was calling through.

      Forget the war they say, the past is over,

      A world of love and peace is here to stay.

      But soldiers know that peace is not forever,

      And the future’s just a friend of yesterday.

      But I’ll be here beside you,

      When you wake up with the dawn

      And I’ll hold you if the night becomes too long.

      Now I see the look so haunted,

      In your eyes and on your face.

      As I hold your sweat-soaked body in the dawn,

      And the peace of mind you’ve wanted,

      Since you left that wicked place,

      Now mocks you in a world of silent scorn.

      Forget the war they say, the past is over,

      The wrongs of yesterday fill hearts with shame.

      Old soldiers now, just like a secret lover,

      Are best put out to rest without a name.

      But I’ll be here beside you,

      When you wake up with the dawn,

      And I’ll hold you if the night becomes too long.

      So the questions go unheeded,

      They lie etched upon your face.

      As your tired eyes burn feebly in your head,

      What you thought your country needed,

      Somehow fills you with disgrace,

      ‘Til you envy those old soldiers who are dead.

      Don’t talk about the war, the past is over,

      And righteous hearts regret our sinful ways.

      Old soldiers are a bitter sad reminder,

      Of the follies of our blinded yesterdays.

      But I’ll be here beside you,

      When you face your final dawn,

      And I’ll hold you ‘till at last the pain has gone.

       Gary Blinco, April 1998

      CHAPTER ONE