We Stood Up

We stood up.
Bodies were needed to defend those that could not defend themselves
To defend our homes, to defend our way of life, and we stood up
We knew if we didn't, someone else would have to, so we stood up
We stepped forward and offered our lives, our bodies, our minds
Given freely whether it would be taken or not
We offered everything we were, willing to die if necessary
We signed a contract, turning our lives into property
Into a resource, into a number in a logbook
We were trained, desensitized, given muscle memories of war fighting
Instinct was altered to incorporate a doctrine of combat and sacrifice, of war and dedication
We were turned from men and woman, from simple civilians
Into engines of battle, into instruments of war
Into an organized, complex living clockwork of warfare
We were always there, willing to fight
We were always there, willing to serve
We were always there, willing to kill
We were always there, willing to die
We offered ourselves to the abattoir, we offered everything we had
We stood up.