Best 1968 Poems

August 28th 1968*
Written: by Tom Wright
3/20/2014

Without joy I faced a mountainous rise,
A pale rider had entry into my day.
Sitting astride, the specter of my demise,
No longer, my concerns, could I allay.

But from uplifted prayer, an answer,
Descended not as an eminent surprise;
I was jolted by news...

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Against communist Vietnam a war was waged 
For almost twenty years fierce fighting raged 
The French came first then the U. S. arrived
Communism had grown and it had thrived.

Most American soldiers served with distinction
Carrying out orders for the good of their mission
But in hearts of...

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I still have dreams of my favorite car
It took me to places not really far
On some days it would not start
One day it just fell apart
So few moments we were on par...

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30,000 Lt. Calleys - LEST WE FORGET
The My Lai Massacre - 1968
There's a sound in the dark
of a shot to its' mark
and it's ended a dream for good
for a boy in his prime
who's run out of his time
and he dies from words mis-understood.
There's a girl...

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MLK...
(January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968)


they shot you down
all those years ago

but

your dream lives on
and always will

for though much has been
gained since you dreamed
your dream

there is much to fight for
and much more to struggle for

and much, much more
to fight for still

so
your dream resounds in
our...

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 DA NANG, 1968:  THE DANCE OF DEATH

 
That night I watched the muted flashes
Reflected off low somber clouds
And heard the muted rumble
Of distant artillery
As if a storm were approaching.

And I knew that somewhere
In the jungled hills out there
Uniformed figures flailed the air
In grotesque...

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Pa!   the soldier come! with 
gum and money and big big fun!
they like my aoi dai (dress) and
long black hair, 

Pa! I meet fella, stripe on arm,
big heart, big dollar and home have 
farm;

Pa! he want take me to mountain far,
Yes! OK?...Oh thank...

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After all the years, what’s left
are names. Fasnet in Emmendingen,
weekend Bummeln with an upturned 
thumb. Breisach imperially sealed 
to the Habsburgs, still guarding 
a foggy Rhein To Bagersee, how many 
stops along the Strassenbahn. Ganterbier 
and Kaiserstuhl, Totenkopf’s volcanic 
crown. He snapped my picture 
in...

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It was a long and turbulent year
Beset with death, war and crime.
Oh! Where do we  journey from here?
Alas, a New Year begins its chimes.

Last January misfortune began
North Korea captured the Pueblo ship
While Americans soldiers died in Vietnam
The Hippies embraced the LSD trip.

Chaos and dissent...

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Circa February 28th, 1968 - The Former Leiper Estate

Soon after our family settled
into the sprawling estate
named "Glen Elm" approximate
half century old from date
mentioned in title, said treasure
rosy Gypsy foretold fate

Harriet Harris, (daughter
of Antebellum Rebecca great
Kuritsky - Brooklyn transplanted
Southern Belle), create
head "FAKE" story, whereby
former did absquatulate

with...

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"Wah-hoo-wah!"
said the 'bro,'
 "Let's head toward 
  Fraternity Row."

The Library bells
toll ding-dong,
  Drunken brothers
  play beer-pong;

All through the night
play and drink,
  By dawn of day, 
  their breath stinks.

Men of Darmouth,
give a rouse!
  Party hearty 
  and carouse....

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1968
By Franklin Price
11/13/2018

The year was nineteen sixty eight, fifty years have passed since then
When I got to Vietnam, we still were there to win
Then Chinese New Year happened, Tet Offensive was its name
The regulars and Vietcong came in force to change the game

We beat them...

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I'm waiting
for you to admit
just once
that you have never really looked into my eyes
or held my hand
or touched my cheek

I'm waiting 
for you to say
just once
that our friendship  has made you happy
or our thoughts shared
or our dreams

I'm waiting
for you to ask 
just once 
for...

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November 1968: The Hunted 

Got divorced couple years ago, second time
At first, I mirror myself as a low-life loser

Jack without Jill, McGee without Molly
Ossie without Harriot, Adam absent Eve 

No fourth finger, gold band of respectability
Instead wagging digits of family and friends

Then discover a stimulating,...

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August 28, 1968
Haiku: by Tom

Cancer was the match
that set my fields on fire.
Then came God’s healing.
...

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