If a Victory is Told in Detail

Warriors Ha!
They think they know what battle is
Fighting Killing The Enemy
The young think it glorious, honorable
The old understand the battle field
They understand, but they don't know
They don't know

A healer though
A healer sees the slaughter
From the inside out
We see every person that died
Every person that we couldn't save
Every person who is permanently wounded
That will never be the same again

Healers carry the burden
The burden of everybody's life
They carry it on their shoulders
For if we fail, so, too, do you

Why would anyone want to be a healer?
We healers don't have much choice
We healers are compelled to help
To help however we can

How could a warrior be a healer?
We fight to make our country better
We healers heal because,
As Maude told Alanna,
"Use your healing magic
Use it all you can
It's harder to heal than it is to kill"

How could a healer be a warrior?
We healers fight
We fight because we know
We know how best to kill
For we know best how to heal
We know just where to strike
To make the death quick
To make it as painless as possible

Warriors Ha!
They think they know what battle is
Fighting Killing The Enemy
The young think it glorious, honorable
The old understand the battle field
They understand, but they don't know
They don't know

A healer though
A healer sees the slaughter
From the inside out
We see every person that died
Every person that we couldn't save
Every person who is permanently wounded
That will never be the same again

Healers carry the burden
The burden of everybody's life
They carry it on their shoulders
For if we fail, so, too, do you

Grandfather was correct
In all that he has said
But most especially in this
If a victory is told in detail
One can't distinguish it from defeat

For who should know this better
Than the healers that know death
For who should know this better
Than the ones that see the end