Dog Tags

Dog Tags By David J Walker My Dog-tags remain chained Still hanging On a hook inside my Closet door For years now The same Except for the occasions that Remind me of why I Wore them And Why I still keep them With my Last name first First name last Middle initial Service number Blood type And religion Everything one needs to Know To get me back home The tinny tinkling Sound Of them around my Neck As I walk The P-38 C-Rations Can opener that every Experienced soldier regarded as Essential Well My Dog-tags were Essential For three years And thereafter only on Special occasions that I needed to Feel them clanking between my Shirt and skin Before then From my middle years I could only remember And remember And remember For so many years The memories Would not stop Would not fade Would not go away As each would invade My every day Every day Every day But the Abacus Keeps count as the days turn into Years And A metamorphosis occurs Perspective Has not made me necessarily wise Though perhaps Gracious and thoughtful when I finally realize the enemy wore dog tags too And now As I am old I can hold them we can be friends the kind that after many years finds reasons to laugh again so It’s ok with me If my Dog-tags rest Upon my chest and They may be helpful to Explain Who I was As I’m taken back home Again