1. To Fly
My father was an admiral, and so
I joined the Navy. Back in fifty-eight
to be a pilot seemed the way to go:
ship-sailors were committed to a crate.
Scrub decks? Paint rusting gunwales? That’s a ‘no’.
The Skyhawk was my weapon (and my fate!)
2. Rubicon Crossing
Some nations follow rainbows, I am told:
we thought, in Vietnam, ‘search and destroy’
would lead us to our fabled pot of gold.
For years we tried it, but it brought no joy:
we lost our nerve, and switched to ‘clear and hold’.
Saigon endured the selfsame end as Troy.
3. Brainwash
The Hanoi Hilton. Yes, I was a guest.
They found my father was a VIP,
and left off hurting me. Impressed,
they wanted to restore my liberty.
But if I left my buddies, I’d detest
myself. I turned them down. That’s decency!
4. Frozen Side of the Sun
Should politicians simply sing the song?
A woman voter told me, in the hall,
Obama was a Muslim. I said, “Wrong!”
I guess I lost her vote. I made the call
I knew was the correct one. I was strong.
Thus conscience doth make cowards of us all.
As a child, men of science warned me.
About the coming of a second ice age.
They flashed pictures of stomping mastodons,
hungry saber-tooth cats.
Giant sloths with enormous claws.
I was all in and took quick action.
I learned how to build an igloo.
By stuffing snow into hollow plastic blocks.
I sharpened the end of dozens of sticks.
To do battle with the giant cats and mastodons.
Now, Bill Nye, Mr. Gore and Hanoi Jane.
Shake a crooked finger
Warn of global warming and biblical flooding.
I'm taking them seriously.
So, I'm stockpiling tuna fish, beer and seed.
And building a tiny ark just for three.
As I'll never have two of everything.
There's only the cat, an olive-eyed dove and me.
Flim Flam
the hero man
sold his story
and away he ran
From Hanoi to DC
before swamps could be drained
karma would catch him
and rot out his brain
But the damage was done
in the Great Halls of power
as his bombs of war
the whole world did scour
So what is now left
when the hero has faded
same as it was
a nation all jaded
Clamoring to praise
what was clearly a fool
a spoiled near despot
the ultimate tool.
(8/25/2018)
Our leaders who are Caucasians
On some previous occasions
Would A-bomb Japan
And Viet Nam hides tan
But hate all bias against Asians
Author's comment: Hate crime is always bad. Here's an idea for a political cartoon:
Frame 1: Truman and advisors celebrate the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki with laughter and joy even though those targets were not military and innocent civilians died.
Frame 2: LBJ and Nixon celebrate with the military and their suppliers over dropping bombs on Hanoi.
Frame 3: The same people claim outrage after any act of violence against an asian here.
wars we like
Do we like wars as long as it is at our doorstep
the Russians fought in Afghanistan and lost hands down
the USA took over this unwinnable war so far it has lasted
Twelve years with no end in sight.
The USA lost the Vietnam war, but Hollywood came
to the rescue made movies of brave soldiers whose every
bullets hit a target, yet they fled from the rooftop in Hanoi
it was a sickening sight.
In the meantime, the French are fighting a war against the rebellious
in central Africa to defend and give the presidency
to those who are most corrupt in the name of oil and precious
stones and metal.
The French keep their war entirely; it is not headline news.
Now, the battle is coming home its fought in our streets
there are no heroes here and no movie to make for now.
Pirate cat in stealth mode wiggles his joy.
Hunting prey like an eager cat boy.
Rats on the ship were singing ahoy.
Licking their paws in Hawaiian poi.
Three legged cat with his peg leg coy
Fast friends with Pirate King Fauntleroy
Together they chased parrot mascot as toy
Ruffling his feathers, quick to annoy.
The rest of the crew were battling Hanoi
Stealing their treasure of sweet Hawaiian poi.
Pirate cat and Fauntleroy did truly enjoy
Watching the fight from the deck of Ole Roy.
A singer in search of a song
Discovered that they were all wrong
Whatever she sang
Was like a bell rang
And everyone flashed her their dong
Rice paddy wakes up ready to be planted.
Where are those lazy farmers?
Snicker laughs. Nothing lazy about them.
They are the most cheerful workers she knows
She feels swampy today, colder than usual
The plow is heading her way,
She can see it a bit past the tiered fields
Golden streams snaking through tall verdant grasses
She waves, but pointed bamboo hat man does not see
He is getting older, slower,
He does not bend as long over her as he used to
Gets more angry about the menacing rats too
Losing his grip in some ways
She learned that her sake is a hit in the west
No surprise to her.
Japan, Hanoi and Vietnam love it, don’t they?
She has heard old coolie brag about her rice, more than any other paddy.
Rice Paddy watches him turn the plow over to his son
Son is lazy. Should be getting plow himself. Spends too much time over nothing.
How will she fare when Old Man Farmer is no longer of this world?
She bows to him as he enters her waters, knowing she will miss him terribly.
Rice paddy wakes up ready to be planted.
Where are those lazy farmers?
Snicker laughs. Nothing lazy about them.
They are the most cheerful workers she knows
She feels swampy today, colder than usual
The plow is heading her way,
She can see it a bit past the tiered fields
Golden streams snaking through tall verdant grasses
She waves, but pointed bamboo hat man does not see
He is getting older, slower,
He does not bend as long over her as he used to
Gets more angry about the menacing rats too
Losing his grip in some ways
She learned that her sake is a hit in the west
No surprise to her.
Japan, Hanoi and Vietnam love it, don’t they?
She has heard old coolie brag about her rice, more than any other paddy.
Rice Paddy watches him turn the plow over to his son
Son is lazy. Should be getting plow himself.
Spends too much time over nothing.
How will she fare when Old Man Farmer is no longer of this world?
She bows to him as he enters her waters, knowing she will miss him terribly.
Trump and Ho Chi Mein Trail
Ho Chi Mein Trail led to his monument;
Trump heard that Hanoi Hilton meant,
And much strain,
Withstood by McCann;
Perfect place to leave current President.
Jim Horn
What would happen is that we did drown
In flowers we found in a beautiful gown,
Freely flowing,
While growing;
Emerald shapes we can see in a crown.
Jim Horn
Where Trump had his latest Far East
Summit meeting we should be deleting
and President unseating.
Associate With McCain
May be many things we associate with McCain;
To go to war, he always would train and train,
Was heroic
And historic,
And in Hanoi Hilton would withstand the pain.
Jim Horn
The Man She Buried
She buried her husband decades ago
He died fighting a needless war
Held prisoner for so many years
He wrote to her every day
Yet, she never heard a word
Her two children never knew their father
They were told stories
But, they never knew for sure
Over time she lived her life
As he became a distant memory
The a day came when a canvas bag arrived
A thousand letters were poured onto the floor
Each one was sent from a cage in Hanoi
Addressed to her, but never sent
She read each one through tear-filled eyes
And as the last letter was put back in the envelope
She fell in love one again
And again she mourned the man she buried so long ago
AIR FORCE
There were those times
On long missions over Laos and the Gulf of Tonkin
When a weariness settled over us
Over pilot and navigator and crew
Settled on us like a resigned acceptance
Like the letting go before sleep arrives
Our shoulders sagged
And our voices became hoarse
It was as if we were entering another dimension
Where worry was not a concern.
And then over the radio came the voice of an F105 pilot
On a bombing run over Hanoi
Whose voice sounded the weariest of all
MAYDAY! He called out on emergency frequency
My plane's been hit and I'm bailing out
As if he realized at that moment
That his life hung on more than his parachute
On more than a missing man formation.
There’s a small lake in the center of Hanoi,
you need a guide to find it;
the tail of a B-52 bomber lies, still; there,
50 years or more:
shot out of the night sky,
and fell its tons, while red hot metal announced
its glowing heavy arrival
people were eating, around, and the mass
and the weight emptied the small lake of fish
and most of the water
what a splash!
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