This is my war movie.
There’s no famed actors on set
and the lighting is never right
just a bunch of boys
turned to men
learning how to fight.
We’ve changed directors a dozen times
blurred the lines of our crimes
with foreign extras filling faded chalk outlines
We went off script and flipped
from compassionate protagonist
to ravenous antagonist
Hearts and minds and ticket sales
scarred old bodies telling tales
of honor, virtue, filling seats
making fortunes for Hollywood Washington elites
17 years, no end in sight
to the longest war movie
we never quite got right