Tea with Terrorists and The Game

By Chris Mercado

“Tea with Terrorists”

Have you ever had tea with terrorists?
It’s just a little game I play.
Embedded with the enemy,
alone and unafraid.

I once climbed a mountain,
just because I could.
It wasn’t that I had to,
or even that I should.

You see life’s about those moments,
where you’ve lived instead of died. 
In a moment you’re changed forever,
with a simple smile oft confused with pride.

Life’s not about your wealth or politics,
or where you live or what you do.
It’s about who you are and how you’ve loved,
And shown your heart is true.

Just ask yourself this question,
once the night has turned to day.
Have you had tea with terrorists?
Cause it’s a game you need to play.

“The Game”

This killer is an evil sans remorse,
a faceless flash which screams up high.
At once a man, his daughters died.

With bloodstained boots and a bloodstained soul,
I’m twice as much as half any man I’ve met.
And when he dealt those cards, I stood and placed my bet. 

In the belly of the beast I rode and played that hand,
I called his bluff and showed to make my stand.

A twist and crank to stem the flow,
eyes pitched wide, devoid of pain.
And with it still, his fear remains.

A leg was lost but a life was saved,
That demon howled, his soul depraved.

Something divine has placed that tepid soul upon my path,
with dreams like lullabies and Titans fighting Gods.
A reaper called and made me check the odds.

This game was played with more than cards,
but a king of spades had saved the day.
So Death just smiled and walked away.

****

Chris Mercado is an Infantry officer with deployments to Iraq, Afghanistan, Africa, and the West Bank.