Tom Quigley Poet Tanka

Old Glory

antidepressants
  slow the evisceration
    dulling guilt's knife edge
Jim was from Tuscaloosa
    His remains flew home last year

professors applaud
  sneering ripped knee pants coeds
    stomp on old Glory
      old vet asks for respect, no
deep breath, count to ten, unclench

Homicide bomber
  seventy-two virgin quest
paradise, no doubt
Jim shielded a boy
  Bomber in my AR’s sights
    too slow, all sorts of fragments

We have done our job
  And perhaps a bit too well
Our price tag hidden
The wolves half a world away
  Panting in my ears, not yours

5/30/16
© Thomas W. Quigley

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Poet Destroyer A May 31, 2016 at 3:57 AM enjoyed your write Tom, thank you for sharing... ~Linda~ Tom Quigley May 31, 2016 at 6:17 AM Thanks Linda!

Andrea Dietrich May 30, 2016 at 1:27 PM An excellent post for Memorial Day. I especially loved that last one!! Tom Quigley May 30, 2016 at 10:43 PM Thanks, Andrea!

Charlie Smith May 30, 2016 at 9:27 AM Thank you Tom, Jim...and all the rest Tom Quigley May 30, 2016 at 12:30 PM Thanks, Charlie, but the honor was not mine. Heartfelt thanks to all Vets.