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
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