Lessons learned
by first the Chinese
then France
and the Unites States...
Never underestimate
unconventional units
or guerrilla warfare
supported by regular units...
Dien Bien Phu
Bernard B. Fall
called it
"Hell in a very small place"
soon after 1954
America walked the "Street without joy"
The Viet Minh
attacking satellite positions
seven in all
such names as
"Huguette"
"Claudine"
"Gabrielle"
"Beatrice"
General Giap
former school teacher
later besieged Khe Sanh
saved only by B-52 air strikes...
What men will die for
makes less sense
as time goes by...
Perhaps it is
the unspoken honor
among comrades
and brothers...
Still they soldiered on
60 years has passed
and around the world
the madness has grown...
~ ~ ~ ~
Looking for the formal definition, structure, and history of this poetry form? Visit the Poetry Dictionary entry below. Then return to explore how PoetrySoup members bring the form to life through their own poems.