Renay Marie Groves

A WAR IN CANADA

Wear the Canadian uniform – I can,
Compromise my morals to do that – I cannot.

Come to work with a smile – I can,
Know the impact of this – I cannot.

Believe in soldiers who serve with pride – I can,
Support soldiers working to diminish this pride – I cannot.

Hope we are all given equal opportunity when we join – I can,
Be naive in this belief – I cannot.

Go to war for my country – I can,
Be at war in my country – I cannot.

Contribute to our common soldiers’ well being – I can,
Go forward at their expense – I cannot.

Recognize my own faults – I can
Allow others to take credit for that effort – I cannot.

Promote what trusted soldiers work to achieve – I can,
Participate in the immoral acts of a soldier – I cannot.

Know each soldier has a purpose for the greater good – I can,
Give up on any soldier – I cannot.

Trust a soldier at his or her word – I can,
Trust him/her after they have proven otherwise – I cannot.

Remember those who have given us faith – I can,
Put the ones that have not in the same category – I cannot.

Listen to the stories of soldiers that need to be heard – I can,
Push them away on another soldier’s word – I cannot.

Be truly thankful for every day served – I can,
Look forward to the last day I serve – I cannot.

Know my purpose is defined in uniform – I can,
Give up that purpose for my own benefit – I cannot.

Work to do right in my small corner of the military – I can,
Ignore what desperately needs to be dealt with – I cannot.

Have strength in the face of adversity – I can,
Predict when this will happen – I cannot.

Take serious the advice of a trusted soldier – I can,
Know that they fully understand – I cannot.

Make mistakes – I can,
Ignore and not work o those mistakes – I cannot.

Trust most follow our Code of Ethics – I can,
Change those who don’t practice these ethics – I cannot.

Protect those from what I have learned – I can,
Hide what has been done wrong – I cannot.

Take responsibility for the wrong I have done – I can,
Carry baggage belonging to others – I cannot.

Be open to constructive criticism – I can,
Promote unfounded criticism – I cannot.

Understand doing what is right can impact my career – I can,
Control how that is done by others – I cannot.

Involve myself in activates of a positive nature – I can,
Sacrifice the little effort that takes – I cannot.

Be realistic in my goals – I can,
Always know what I will achieve – I cannot.

Mourn for those who retire prematurely -I can.
Believe the loss is minimal to the CF – I cannot

Go forward in trust – I can,
Predict the outcome – I cannot.

See what is wrong – I can,
Believe there is more wrong than right – I cannot.

Be fearful of what lies ahead – I can,
Give into my fear – I cannot.

Face my fear – I can,
Avoid making errors – I cannot.

Shelter my family from some of the pain – I can,
Protect them from all fall out – I cannot.

Hope the outcome is moderate – I can,
Control the end result – I cannot.

It is never the wrong time to do the right thing.