The View from Afar

The View from Afar

I stare up in the starry sky
but never pause to wonder why -
here? Now?

I feel the wind abrade my face
then disappear without a trace.
Stray thoughts.

I listen to my favorite band.
The smells speak of a foreign land.
What’s real?

Christmas. Birthdays. Missed and now gone.
There’s no comfort in “Soldier On!”
Trite phrases.

Iraq. Iran. Afghanistan.
I wonder if there was a plan.
Unsure.

My journal kept for twenty years
details a life of laughs and tears
and now?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I close the book and feel the doubts.
"No heroes here," the darkness shouts.
Just words.

Right or wrong? Misguided or just?
I cling to one truth that I trust -
I served.

An entry for Round 85, "Invalid Item" 
Prompt: Image (see cover art above)
Required Form: Synchronicity  
Line Count: 24