I have never…kissed my mum goodbye not knowing if I would see her again

I have never…run into a hail of bullets while soldiers fell around me

I have never…thrown myself to the ground as artillery pounds into the dirt around me

I have never…held the hand of my best friend as he slipped away

I have never…sat awake at night with my eyes as wide as saucers waiting for the person who wants to kill me

I have never…buried my brother

I have never…sat among dead soldiers wondering why my heart still beats when theirs has stopped

I have never…killed another and been haunted ever since

I have never…cried to myself at night when I thought no one was listening

I have never…run onto a battlefield with adrenalin and fear coursing through my veins

I have never…written a letter home lying about what I see and what I feel for fear of what the truth will do to my loved ones

I have never…looked into the eyes of the person whose life I am about to take

I have never…forgotten the colour of those eyes and the fear looking back at me

I have never…prayed to a God I don’t believe in to get me out of here

I have never…gone to sleep wondering if I will ever wake

I have never…been so scared

I have never…returned to my ‘normal life’ and felt so disconnected and alone

I have never…woken up at night screaming and sweating with technicolour nightmares of war swirling through my mind

I have never…

Because of you.

Thank you.

Lest we forget.