I Once Was A Warrior br A Sonnet to the Wounded Warriors br br I once was a warrior, but now today, br My battlefields are not so far away. br The foe that I face have no weapons of might, br Anxiety and worry are the enemy I fight. br br I once was a soldier, but now I sit, br No longer in a body that’s lean and fit. br No greater cause, no more fields of glory, br The guns are now silent, no friends, no war stories. br br I once was a sailor, but now I lay, br Trapped in my body in bed all day. br As I watch the new men go off to war, br I will never again sail to distant shores. br br I once was an airman, the sky my domain, br But today just the memory is all that remains. br As I gaze out my window in the dark of the night, br Knowing I never again will take flight. br br I am a Marine, and I always will be, br Broken, not bowed, though my eyes cannot see. br The hospital halls now the trails that I take, br The pain that’s inside, the new enemy I face. br br I once was a warrior, but now today, br My battlefields are not so far away. br The foe that I face, I face in my home, br And my greatest of battles I must face alone.