Private First Class

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