Poems by Alex Olech, Class of 2009

The Soldier's Side

It is time for me to rise,
It is time for me to fight.
I am a soldier, a protector of society.
All my friends have died,
All I am is but a shell.
Did I grow up just to die?
Why, o why did I come to fight?
Was it for money or fame?
O no, it was not for gain.
Why have all the boys left to die?
Die in a blaze of bullets.
Why?
Since all my friends have died,
When will it be my time to die?
Will it be like them?
Or before I go, will I kill?
Will I see my family again?
Or will I be reunited with my friends?
Don't I deserve to die?
All of the boys I killed?
Who is to say who lives and dies?
Who is to say it is my time to rise?

I got the idea for this poem after I had been listening to a song and thinking about the movie V for Vendetta. The character in the poem is a general in a totalitarian government that had ordered the killing of countless people. He could not live with these memories any longer so he decided to commit suicide.

 The Void

I stood there looking over the canyon, staring into the gaping void that would be my final resting place. I only thought of those whom I slaughtered without a care or thought. None would remember me for any good works, they might not remember my name for the evils I had done. All they would know is the destruction of our world and the battle from whence I came. I know my death will help the world, so why must I regret my death? It is not because I wish to kill but because I am human. That side was supposed to be dead long ago. I don't care; I have made up my mind. I jumped. Not a thought passed as I hit the cold unforgiving ground. I felt no pain, saw no light, but I just lay waiting in my body, it felt just like falling in a void.