Letter From Vietnam

A quivering shadow shrouding a clouded pane Shared pain scribbled in the doleful rain Hollow words that broker heartache and disdain A sorrowful whistle emanating from a distant train Poorly trained recruits struggling above the furor to remain Stridently striving nation's honor to uphold; but only vitriol, criticism obtain  Sacrificial fodder sheared of its free-flowing mane Pared of hope; left only with the incalculable strain Stationed in a humid hovel that every ounce of stamina doth drain Surrounded by enemies who fealty and allegiance feign Fighting to defend a people tethered to a weak, tenuous chain Serving under commanders who constantly seek fallow grounds to regain Sacrificial lambs whose blood the unforgiving terrain doth stain Seeking a wily, amorphous foe in a borderless territory to contain Reconnoitering through boundless jungles that equally beauty and poison contain Searching for 'guerillas in the mist', but only marauders and malcontents detain Scouring villages for contraband; arbitrary jury distributing pain Showered with toxic chemicals that clear our paths but our lungs restrain Conditioned to violence as barbaric, torture devices many comrades have slain Transporting the liberal vices of burgeoning social revolution to a frugaler domain  Satiating the lonely days; secluded nights with: booze, barbiturates and cocaine Surviving a hostile conflict where sanity seemed to constantly ebb then wane   Trite conscripts whose epitaph will read, 'Every battle objective gained, but the national will could not retain'.