Poems by Carolanne Murphy
Please don’t judge me
Do not judge me because my clothes are old and dirty,
Do not judge me because I am not smiling today.
Because my home seems to be the park bench,
Because I look longingly at your lunch.
Smile at me, even though I don’t smile back.
Sit with me on my bench,
Offer me your lunch.
I might even smile back.
You don’t know why I am here,
What I have been in my life.
I fought in a war that wasn’t even mine.
I lost my friends and killed people I didn’t even know.
I wrote to my wife every day,
Letters of love (I told her I was fine).
I pretended to be brave
But I was so afraid.
The noise and the smell was terrible.
I just wanted to go home now.
The day came and I did go home
But I was no longer the same.
My wife did not love this new person
And I couldn’t understand that.
All I had been through
While she was home safe.
The bottle became my friend,
The world became my enemy.
I know it was all wrong,
I should have been stronger.
More understanding
But we went through so much
My friends and I.
We went as boys,
Came back as men.
It’s hard to adjust
When you’ve seen what I’ve seen.
So don’t judge me too harshly
And give me a smile.