Long Fatigues Poems

The bombing of Pearl Harbour was the turning point for me
That day I enlisted in the army, despite protests from my family
I tried to reassure them by saying that everything would be fine
And after six...

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"It was heard
They took him to the morgue.
Last night in the February dark
When the crescent moon, five days toward full, had set
He'd had the urge to die."

In the artistic creation of poetry, there is a...

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still the climbing green lianoid lass


her tender tendrils torn  


massive metal lying like a cutlass


in her lap forlorn


                ...

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Who would milk the Tigress
				
                				    wears no armour    gasmask
				pail within squat thighs
					nor bloodless...

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In the Congolese Jungle three men are training for a mission.
They train to detain and disarm poachers.
They hope this will be the conclusion of their efforts.
They also train for a formidable alternative.
Poachers are opportunistic and...

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-Thinking of Iraq Ware Veterans on Veterans Day-

The day after the terrorists attacked our country, I joined the military and was deployed to Iraq. I fought in the desert far away from my sweet home...

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Driving home one day after hours of monotonous office work,
Saw a man sitting by the road; looked as one down on his luck.
Paid small notice to the figure; my lonely life was in a rut.
He...

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The rivers are racing with a glee of free morning stampede today
carrying the currency of silted centuries and the cool silk of the wind's summer saga,
within my heart I feel the rambunctious rush of wanderlust
this...

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"The Gift" 

Communication to a friend...

Responding to what you have written, responding to your thoughts. This is a very deep and very sad write and I get it. 

I would like to read the story...

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You never know when the day begins or until it is complete what twists and turns that day may take…or what people you might meet.

Today a nod to fate…or luck…or what many call destiny…this story...

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Virtual trophies (wife for I)... 

offered, husbanded, and collected 
when winning solitaire
Nothing beats that exaltant rush of adrenaline
watching the computer generated cards
automatically routed 
to their respective suite (spot)
(after they get turned face value up)
generates countenance...

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DEROS

There is great relief when a tour ends
and you are processed out of the unit;
addresses exchanged and goodbyes done
all thought is about the Freedom Bird
and the long awaited flight home.

Binh Hoa the last stop in...

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Subways swim underground 
like whales swallowing dreams.
I sit blended into its whirring cavity
A hostage inside this vehicle transporting prisoners.
I see my face clinched in the window’s reflection
Shifting with blank gazes into stark musings
as the whine...

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Parading through tangled vines, dense brush
Green fatigues twining with emerald canopy so lush
A humid vapor drifts overhead; perspiration founts gush
Under foot decaying leaves and rotting vegetation mush
The eerie stillness on all sides made my adrenaline...

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It was summertime and healing from the winter’s dark
Felt like memories were alone and silent, warring with the doubts
Leaves green and dancing with the breeze, wings of hope
Laughing at the lost moments when we played...

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Mr. Roscoe Schlink was drafted into the army in Bean Blossom, Indiana,
And was sent for basic training at Fort Fumble in the state of Louisiana.
He was given innumerable shots, yelled at a lot and shorn...

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Paper Targets
You shoot at people as if they were paper targets
Not caring who you kill, maim or injure
Your outrage has been well planned
Not a single bit went wrong
You serviced your guns
Collected hundreds of bullets
Dressed the...

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He came home in fatigues
a late night in March
chill, crisp windless.

His heavy shined shoes pairingly
stole the chipped, warped
creaking boards of
the basement stairs. 

Turning the corner,
stepping into the living room
shiny black leather 
steel tipped boots ...

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Stillness enters as silent as the bloom of a flower,
As sober as a winter night with a fine fog shower!
It secretes within just like nectar secreting noiseless,
Its sweetness is felt by hearts and minds, crystal-like!...

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Billy The Conqueror

Historians will tell you tales about William the Conqueror in times of old
and how he made for himself a terrifying yet interesting name,
but the King of all Creation has so named Billy the...

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Hide it before they see
Put up that smile 
That everyone believes
Hide it away
Hide it quick
Hide it and draw that shield

Its alright
I won't tell
Of the silent screams
That lurk within you
hiding them so well

Just promise not to...

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Over the blasts of mortar shells,
He heard the sound of jingle bells;
And when he closed his tired eyes,
He got a Christmas Day surprise.

Snow was fall’n and his boy was call’n:
“Daddy, can we go down now?
I...

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...prized progeny well nigh impossible chore
haunted by priceless offspring, 
neither surviving 
   papa/ mama can never a door
not ever again hearing 
   soft pitter patters across floor
mental angst fraught with blood...

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A Mother's Heart

She brought this babe
Into this world with such care,
A life full of hope and dreams
Nothing will happen to him...nothing would dare.
She sends him to school
And days filled with little league,
Never a thought he...

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I remember 
That summer 
Days in slow motion
Longer nights
Nothing to do
Bored
And angry
I enlisted.

Military orders
In breast pocket
Standing In formation
Gear
Next to my right leg
Family, friends and memories
Lurking
Somewhere in the shadows.

Cargo plane 
Engines thrusting
Size beyond imagination
Pushing through a...

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