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Veterans/Memorial Day Poem, #217
Veterans/Memorial Day Poem, #217
John Wayne 5:00 AM. A tank screams, we re here! For a moment it s high-noon. A fifty tears up the letter I m writing in my head. My bare arm burns from a 100 bee stings. (Never sit downwind of an ejection port.) We ve just answered a question. What does it sound like? When everbody fires at the same time? Like 4th of July. I m not enjoying the fireworks. I roll off the track, pinned to the ground by my pack. Tom pulls me up to one knee. He s yelling and pointing. I can t hear him. I fire 5 quick rounds of 12 gauge into the tree line. I think I just broke my shoulder. The noise is deafening,the flashes expose us. I keep waiting to be hit. I can t see. Someone s turning the light on and off in a dark room. Silence. I hear some talking. The tank moves foward. Someone lights a butt. We take a break. What? Mad minute. That s what it s called. Everyone fires. Checks their weapons. Beats their shields. And let s Charlie know the Zulu s have arrived. They call it a Mad minute. Tell me about it. We walk foward into the Ho Bo Woods. 5:01AM John Wayne is still asleep in California. Written from the Heart by neil leinwohl ARMY PHOTOGRAPHER RVN 67-68 More Poetry http://members.aol.com/warlib/poems.htm Submit a poem http://www.amervets.com/poems/mypoem.htm -- Otis Willie (Ret.) Military News and Information Editor (http://www.13105320634.com) The American War Library, Est. 1988 (http://www.amervets.com) 16907 Brighton Avenue Gardena CA 90247 1-310-532-0634 Military Webmaster Site Link Request Form: http://www.amervets.com/linkreq.htm Military and Vet Info-Exchange/Discussion Groups http://members.aol.com/warlibrary/share.htm |
