A Soldier's Lament by Irish sergeant

It was only Starvation that drove me from our land, 
When famine visited dear old Erin's shore. 
And Nary a soul would help me or offer up a hand, 
'Til they needed Erin's sons to fight their war.

And dear Mary how I miss you as the bugles fill the air
and the morning sun is reaching for the sky. 
How I long to run my fingers through your long and silken hair, 
and hear the curlews sing as day goes by. 

But it's 18 years this summer I've been upon this shore. 
and a soldier's life's the only one I know. 
Still I sit among my comrades and I listen to their snores, 
And I wonder is there any place to go.

And my darling wife I miss you on this humid summer night 
and I wonder if I've ever loved you more. 
A thousand men lie broken after today's fight, 
and I'm praying for the end of this damned war. 

My face is stained with powder and my eyes are filled with tears, 
And the bitter gall of warfare fills my heart. 
I buried our dear boy today and I'm feeling all my years, 
And I'll never still the anguish in my heart. 

And dear Mary, how I miss you as the bugles fill the air, 
And the morning sun is reaching for the sky. 

How I long to run my fingers through your long and silken hair, 
and hear the curlews sing as days go by. 
And I'm praying no more soldiers have to die.

© Neil K. MacMillan