Man In Green

I am a man in green
I have come home
Nothing is different
But everything has changed
I have changed, I am different
I see this world of color in black and white
All the colors are shades of grey
This world is cold and bleak
I see no honor, no discipline, no loyalty
I go with my family who I love deeply
But they are not my family as they once were
I love them and always will
My friends will always be my friends
But my family and friends now are all in green
Our blood is a color on a flag
It pools together to one bright color
We are not the children who left your home
We are men and women now
Forged in pain, tradition and discipline
We are one but all different
We are green
Our bodies a barrel and chamber
Our wit gunpowder
Our heart, bullets, deadly and true
You try to understand us but you can't see
There is strength in us you don't understand
We try to tell you, you listen with great intent
But you shy from our glance because you can not see
The pain and memories in our tears
The pain we have gone through
And why it is we do it
You see my uniform and know me only cloth deep
I am a picture in the paper
A story on the news
A flag draped box
A name on a wall
I am green
A color unseen
A color you do not comprehend
We are different
Our hearts are stained
But we stand true
Our blood is red
It is made of napalm, beer, caffeine and nicotine
You try to understand me
But only green and understand green
We fight for you, die for you,
Come home to you and sit silent for you
Because you listen
But cannot hear
The memories we have and the stories we tell
They make no sense to you
Tales of glory and defeat
Of salvation and death
We are green
See me stand tall
Love me, hate me
I stand so that you can
I say sleep tight
I will stand
Nothing will hurt you
You do not understand
It is not your fault
You try but you do not know
This man in Green