Please Don't Ask Me How My Son Died

Author: Karen Mojecki

Please don't ask me how my son died

His mode of death is not germane

He died while serving and defending….

Our way of life and liberty

He was upholding Army values

Of honor…commitment…integrity…

 

Your question rewinds my journey

To the "knock" on my front door

Two officers wearing uniforms

Were waiting on our porch

Their message was not wanted

They spoke those dreaded words

 

This son I had once sheltered…

I was not able to protect...

It hurts for me to think about

His pain, his wounds, his death

The grief begins again anew,

When someone asks me how he died

 

I do not want to name the projectile

That was the cause of his demise

Or how the medics tried to save him

Before he breathed his last -- and died

Perhaps others can recount those facts

I find them too horrid to describe

 

So please don't ask me how he died….

And replay that moment once again

Understand this painful journey

With compassion in your heart

Those final minutes were just a fraction

Of a unique and greater life

 

If you want to know about my son

His traits, his values, his loves

Then listen as I remember

And help me to celebrate

The life of this exceptional man

And exactly how he lived!