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The Uss Arizona 12 7 41

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Danny Galieote

I race toward my workspace, now battle station
Code Zebra, ASAP, batten down the hatches!
Ka-boom!  Boom!  Boom!  A trance-like sensation
Shipmates scramble for smokes and matches

Ray, Dale, and Russ don’t show
I think: run, jump; if you die, die free
Not trapped and sealed in steel below
Not buried alive like me!

Kaboom! Overhead bolts shoot from the seams
Above is a warm Hawaiian autumn
I’m weak as blood from my neck streams
Where am I now?  Of course, I remember

It’s noon, I have a date with a girl on the beach
She’s eighteen and a bit silly, like me
What a gorgeous sight, she’s now within reach
I’m so happy and complete, so free

7/12/22
Tears Of A Valiant Soldier Poetry Contest
Sponsor:  Faraz Ajmal

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Sotto Poet

Date: 8/13/2022 8:12:00 PM

Robert, you did a wonderful job writing this. We are left altered by its strength, its anguish, and its metaphors. Many, many thanks for taking the time to leave a comment on my page.

Suzanne Delaney

Date: 8/5/2022 3:32:00 PM

Hi Robert. Very poignantly written. I have nothing but respect for American service man. Could I direct you to two of my poems written about two ships I was invited aboard in Brisbane, Australia. The USS Columbia, and the USS Bonhomme Richard. Both poems were featured on their websites in 2003.

Robert Gorelick
Date: 8/13/2022 12:56:00 PM

I appreciate your comment SuZ. I have read "Goodbye Sun" and enjoyed it immensely. "We Have Not Yet Begun" I also really enjoyed. Godspeed, Robert

Suzanne Delaney
Date: 8/5/2022 3:33:00 PM

https://www.poetrysoup.com/poem/goodbye_sun_482440 https://www.poetrysoup.com/poem/we_have_not_yet_begun_482441 I would love your opinion on them. Best, SuZ

I Am Anaya

Date: 7/24/2022 1:58:00 PM

I'm faving this, a fictional history based on raw facts. To be in his boots, a genuine tribute, young sailors, lost lives, Pearl Harbor! I choked up on the last stanza. Good luck in the contest ~Anaya

Robert Gorelick
Date: 7/25/2022 3:03:00 PM

It's my great honor to tribute American servicemen on that date which will live in infamy! Thank you, for the fave, Robert

Mystic Rose Rose

Date: 7/20/2022 3:30:00 AM

I had to read it twice to get the meaning of it, the whole meaning. A fav in my book of personal selections by way of excellency x

Robert Gorelick
Date: 7/20/2022 12:15:00 PM

Thanks for the fav, and your complimentary response! Robert

Gershon Wolf

Date: 7/19/2022 8:45:00 PM

'So free' -- For you and countless hundreds of millions, the greatest generation gave their lives. I wish more people remembered. At ease, Gershon

Robert Gorelick
Date: 7/20/2022 12:26:00 PM

In war a quick death is usually preferable, it's the loved ones left behind who wind up suffering. Robert

Evelyn Judy Buehler

Date: 7/19/2022 8:17:00 PM

Powerfully written, with sad, vivid images. A sorrowful chapter in history.

Robert Gorelick
Date: 7/20/2022 12:31:00 PM

Thank you, I am for delighted by your perceptive comment. Robert

John Loving Iii

Date: 7/19/2022 4:27:00 PM

My imagination of soldiers that dont want to die alone. But look at the date. A day that shall live in infamy. A grave reaching from Here to Eturnity benieth the waves. a monument for the ages. A subject for a poets pen to ponder.

Robert Gorelick
Date: 7/19/2022 5:39:00 PM

Thank you for your thoughtful comments, and for the mention of the movie that revived Frank Sinatra's carrier. Robert