it was not beyond reason,
it was not a lie,
an illusion,
but I know this will be of no comfort to you.
I know you are on your knees again
with no prayer to pray,
without even the dignity of surrender.

I know you are tired of living with defeat
and you roll your eyes
when the ranks whisper of hope and battles won.
I know you are done with war,
and done with loss,
and aching with grief because
it does not matter if you are done or not.

but you must keep it in mind,
that it was not beyond reason,
it was not a lie,
and it was better to have fought
than to have refused to fight.

I do not know if tomorrow you will stand with us again,
and I do not even have the right to speak to you of tomorrow,
or the day the peace is won,
But son, please,
Do not give up.