Permanent Guest

Brain spatter smacked me in the face Blood was everywhere, so thick I could taste it I rolled to the left and with blurry eyes aimed Eliminating the sniper five seconds too late I wiped off my face with the sleeve of my shirt And looked at my friend that lay in the dirt Headless now, only his tags to ID him - An image my mind refused to believe in This jungle would be his makeshift grave No cherubbed headstone for Henry Mave Nothing to tell of the soldier he was The best friend I had, or the son who was loved I buried his body beneath leaves and vines Then I went hunting for Viet Cong lines I killed as many enemies as I possibly could Like a kamikaze, death was understood Somehow I survived and went back to New York Where the horror of war bled into my work Lost my job, my house, friends, and family Trying to forget the engraved memory - I always knew I’d be a permanent guest Because the instant he died, I became homeless **Susan Burch** *Won 8th place in "World of War: Vietnam" contest