William always wanted to be a soldier "Army men were his favorite toys," tells his mother He was going to be the hero of the story Live with honor or die in a blaze of glory So he joined when he was seventeen Kissed his mom goodbye She wept as she packed his duffel bag With notes of love and pride She'd never guess six years from then Tortured and alone William wouldn't die in fields unknown He died at home He loved the army, it's all he ever wanted To serve his country and look death in the face undaunted But after a couple of tours, the fire in him died You can't watch friends be killed and stay the same inside He told his mom "you'd hate me If you knew the things I've done" "I will never hate you You are my beloved son" He said, "no mom, the son you loved Died somewhere over there" But William didn't die in the combat zone He died at home He came back ill at ease with civilians His mother woke to screaming – it was William's The army shrugged and gave him more prescriptions As William's mind grew more and more distant Before he died he told his mom "Don't bury me in my uniform No military funeral That's for some who gave their all" One night he shot the soldier dead To kill the voices in his head They gathered at the weekly wake They have at every army base ‘Cause more will die by their own hand Than fall in any foreign land They covered William in the flag But there was not a boast or brag When asked how soldier William died No one mentions suicide The cause of death is hard to say out loud The soldier who once stood so strong and proud His mother looks away and simply moans He died at home