Private First Class - Kevin Devine

Private Manning standing in a court room

Pleading guilty;

she shouldn’t have to

Truth be told, she should be floating down parade routes

But — the truth WAS told, and what good did that do?

If it was you

You might wish you’d been born a liar

A coward

Her conscience barked as she watched our Apache

Cowboy-kill civilian Iraqis

Their laughter rolled like tanks over bodies

She thought: «What if everyone could see what I see?»

If it was you

You might wish you’d been born a liar

A coward

9 months in a hole

3 years in a cage

For having a soul

The American way

If it was you

You might wish you’d been born a liar

A coward

And not a hero