The Whiskey Taster’s Flavor Guide

Burn Ward Brooke Army Medical Center, October, 2007

The roadside IED was a major insult.
Third degree covers 93 percent. 
He’s not the same as before.
Skin leathery, dry, waxy, 
Pearly gray and charred. 
Underlying fat and muscle exposed.  
Ears gone. 
Fingers gone. 
Manhood gone.
If he still had lips, 
He might pronounce the words, 
“Please pray for me,”
But he’d never complain or lay blame.
I’ll be the one to do that. 
Let the shame be on you, America.
He deserved better than this.
Copyright © | Year Posted 2021

Poem

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The Whiskey Taster’s Flavor Guide
Book: Diverse Voices: The Poetry of Human Rights and the Pursuit of Peace