(being the free verse ramblings of a Vietnam vet)
We leave for home tomorrow,
Assuming we make it
Will things still look
as they did when we left?
The AFN says we're now
known by the sobriquet
Well, yes.
How are we supposed to survive
when Cong mothers strap
C4 to the backs of babes barely
able to walk, then
send them into
the compound
They are already dead
by their loving mother's
hand. Zombies.
The living dead.
Are we to
These are things that those protestors
Will never understand
even if it is explained to them.
Some things can only be
understood if lived through.
Sometimes
But, we leave for home tomorrow.
Streetlights and neon signs
will replace our
And our loved ones await.
Will we know them?
Better, will they know us?
(Do we?)
We leave for home tomorrow,
Assuming we make it
through this night.
Will things still look
the same
The AFN says we're now
known by the sobriquet
baby killers.
How are we supposed to survive
when Cong mothers strap
C4 to the backs of babes barely
able to walk, then
send them into
the compound
to beg for chocolate?
by their loving mother's
hand. Zombies.
The living dead.
Are we to
die as well?
comfortable in their homes,
and their ignorance
and their ignorance
even if it is explained to them.
Some things can only be
understood if lived through.
Sometimes
not even then.
Streetlights and neon signs
will replace our
pyrotechnic suns,
And our loved ones await.
Will we know them?
Better, will they know us?
(Do we?)
