An Army Man

An army man and gruff,
Seeks refuge in a bottle,
A man’s man and tough,
Always on his mettle:
This is a man with a thousand faces from the army,
Hammered out on the conveyor belt of Responsibility, Courage, Rules,
Thought is allowed, but stays mundane,
Solves problems within limits, but never strays beyond those limits.
There’s morality and integrity in spades, bravery in the face of the enemy,
Courage beyond courage,
But he’s running away inside -
From what?
Demons, for sure, that drove him here,
Yet without those demons he’d be nothing.
What can you do?
His path’s set -
Change the man and destroy the man:
Strong and on guard he forges unwaveringly through life,
Gripping tight to his certainty.