His life was taken in the blink of an eye
Without a chance to say his goodbyes,

One hatred act no thought ever given
No peace, no happiness left for the living,

His last thoughts, etched for ever in my mind
By all of the injustices done by mankind,

His story is the saddest that I have ever seen
From the passing of time that cause me to dream

I see him lying upon his back
Shot in the eye from the attack,

He was murdered, executed with one single shot,
Close up, impersonal, his body discarded to rot,

In his left hand his eyewear he holds
Directed removed before his body went cold,

In his right hand laid a worn away locket
Held so close to his heart, deep from his pocket,

The image of his wife and beautiful daughter
Are the true living victims of this horrible slaughter,

The locket remains deep still in my heart
The images still there as they were from the start

For I can not forget that worn away locket
The one opened up from deep in his pocket.

Author’s Notes

In 1993 during the Croatian and Serbian War, there was a little known battle that is now referred to as the “Battle of the Medak Pocket”. Although it was a defining moment in my career as a soldier in the Canadian Forces to this day it will forever be etched in my mind as man's darkest side. This poem is a reminder to me of just one of the true horrors I have seen and a way of dealing with seeing the true aftermath and destruction of War.

“The Locket” is a true event.