For the Children- Free Verse to "Gentlemen Your Verdict"

How was I to tell my crew that all hope was lost?

No ships, no planes, no rescuers that were going to come our way

I had 5 married men, and 15 who are not, what was I to do?

I couldn't save them all, yet I couldn't save only one or two

I had no choice, I had to do what felt right

The men with loving wives and innocent children couldn't just die

The other 15, oh poor lads they were

Their sacrifice is what reunited the 5 families once again

I couldn't just let myself live, not after what I'd done

I killed my best crew, a coward was I ,with no real thought-out plan

I was running out of time, didn't want to imagine shed tears and cries

So I drank the liquid that united 15 brave men

Once the cold liquid ran down my throat, I understood what my men must've felt

Betrayal, sadness, but grateful towards a painless death

As long as there were survivors who could go home safely, my job was done

To have all weights on my own two shoulders was enough

I drag all the guilt, shame, and grief with me, as a true leader should

For it is better that I do so alone, then have the 5 men thought of as guilty

I may be thought of as a murderer, an evil man with no heart

But I did for the sake of the children, for their families not to part

-Lieutenant Commander Oram