When I was a kid
I remembered that my mom always used to tell me these stories of what heroes were
The idea that a hero is defined by an unwavering moral righteousness
And that they were created in an effort to combat a villain
And that the villain of a story was always just this bad guy who got the wrong deal on life
And it was the job of the hero to show them why they were bad
And I remember that there were always real life heroes
Like firefighters
Or like a soldier
And I remember when I enlisted I told myself that I was doing the right thing for my country
That I was gonna be the hero
I remember what it felt like to feel like I was gonna save people
And I remember when my boots hit the ground in the desert and I felt the sting of the sun on my skin
That I knew that pain was gonna be worth it
Because I was gonna come home and I was gonna get some medals pinned to my chest and I was gonna be the hero
And I remember the first time I picked up that gun and I remember the first time I pointed it at someone
And I still feel in the back of my head the pain when the bullet fired
And I can still feel the splatter when the blood
Hit the sand
And I still feel that shell casing so very hot
And I felt that shell hit my hand and it left a burn on my palm
And I remember that when that bullet passed through and came out the other side
That whatever I left standing there that I made sure they weren't there anymore
And now I finally think I get it That the heroes of the stories that our parents always told us
Was the villains of somebody else's story Ain't that a bitch