He cannot sustain relationships this orphan of a war
That took place many years ago in a Country from here far
His only offspring his daughter and her children he has not seen for years
In the privacy of his room his memories often move him to tears.

A German fellow in his late seventies long separated from his wife
Raised in a Berlin orphanage he has known an awful life
Too sick to work and fragile in an old folks home he now reside
His body is still living though 'twould seem his soul has died.

One of the collateral victims of war that we hear so much about
His ego has been damaged after decades of self doubt
He could not sustain relationships even with those to him near and dear
he is part of war's collateral damage of which we so often hear.

He was never a bad person and of him it would be fair to say
That his tragic life circumstances make him what he is today
The trauma of his life's experiences till death with him will remain
And he feels he does not have a future and his past is full of pain.

Of the words collateral damage we so often hear today
They are used about poor war victims in such a dismissive way
As if they are not important like the poor man by life knocked about
Who before he meets the Reaper is already counted out.

Francis Duggan

http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/he-is-part-of-war-s-collateral-damage/