Michael Burch Poet Verse

For Those Thrust Into War's Maw

For Those Thrust into War's Maw
by Michael R. Burch
 
This poem is dedicated to Harvey Stanbrough, an ex-marine who was nominated for the 1999 Pulitzer Prize and has written passionately and eloquently about the horror and absurdity of war in “Lessons for a Barren Population.”
 
No, I will never know
what you saw or what you felt,
thrust into the maw of Eternity,
 
watching the mortars nightly
greedily making their rounds,
hearing the soft damp hiss
 
of men’s souls like helium escaping
their collapsing torn bodies,
or lying alone, feeling the great roar
 
of your own heart.
But I know:
there is a bitter knowledge
 
of death I have not achieved,
and in thankful ignorance,
and especially for my son
 
and for all who benefit so easily
at so unthinkable a price,
I thank you.
 
Published by Romantics Quarterly, Poetic Reflections and Poetry Super Highway as "Privilege." Keywords/Tags: Vietnam War, marines, military, service, honor, duty, bravery, heroism, maw, mortars, rounds, souls, escaping, bodies, corpses, death, heart, roar, bitter, knowledge, thanks, thank you, war, violence, USA, military, courage, patriotic, hero

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