Long Saigon Poems

Memories of a Green Beret

“Where have all the soldiers gone, Long time passing,
Where have all the soldiers gone, Long long time ago,
Where have all the soldiers gone,
Gone to graveyards, every one.
When will they ever learn?
When...

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Sonny hid behind the melons 
In a busy Asian marketplace,
Near the plantains and the mangos 
Where the shadows could obscure his face.  
He inhaled the air around him 
And enjoyed the fragrant scent of...

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I saw one journey end and another begin
I saw my world changed and in a spin 

I saw another end - the end of the band
I saw John and Yoko hand in hand

I saw commandos...

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Let me tell you a true story.
Hopefully to show God’s power and His glory.
Two army buddies, friends that went A.W.O.L.
Absent without leave a military crime, a foul.

Two young men scared in Saigon, not more than...

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Ngo Dinh Diem thought America was a friend
That turned out badly, he met a bloody end
A State Department cabal thought he denied human rights
They pulled the plug and turned off the lights
JFK agreed he had...

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The pro-Hanoi Vietcong many years ago
In the 1950's Diem's government they'd overthrow
All opposition was crushed killed or jailed
These elected ones to their people they failed

This Buddhist country so religious in belief
Now politically torn apart, impending...

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OFFENSIVE !!


Gus Ferenski had a problem. It was a beautiful day outside. The rebel sun gazing down 
like a peeping Tom. 
The factory air, fresh and clean 
as a San Francisco hippie. 
The leaves were...

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This is the best beer I've ever had. 
Yes, The best beer I've ever had. 
No beer is really bad, but 
This is the best beer I’ve ever had. 
 
Beer’s invention was accidental I’m told. 
Something about stored grain...

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AND THE MOTHERS WEEP
                               ...

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Just come along with me to the town 
where long time ago I bicycled, 
walked and ran about whenever
I wanted to smell the fragrance of Saigon

where I raised my hand  to salute the 
spirits...

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Many, many moons ago
when the world was young
people were nomads
carefully moving from place to place
this was the age of dinosaurs
a need for caution
mighty eruptions occurred daily
causing large cracks
that swallowed up camps and people

A time when...

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A place I Have Never Been

This place I travel to
Still I have never been.
I like the casual feel of your words.
I relish the smell of these streets.
Words extracted from your experiences.
I hungrily accept your invitation.
I...

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"Road to Lovejoy - Piano for the Self Taught" (Part 2)


His name was
Flight Left-Tennant V.C.Burton,
or "Victor Charlie Bravo", when he
got pulled over by the cops, explaining
"a sherbert or two Lynette, but not on the rocks".
though...

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Uncle soldier Sammie
is too flashback	    far Saigon 
The bad memory withdrawals 
are too ganja gun smoke strong
So he pumps up the blame volume,
saying who’s dirty napalm wrong

He’s got a shaky second and...

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In 1894, Annie climbed on a bike
Told the doubters to take a hike
Planned to cycle cross the planet, found sponsors, took a gun
Though she died 50 years after, her legend had begun.

How much is embellished,...

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Down and Out in Saigon

Southeast Asia, and Mexico
 has always attracted 
A certain type of westerner
The down and out 

On a down word spiral
Why?
Relatively cheap to live
Lots of part-time gigs

Teaching English
Or other things
Cheap Booze, drugs,...

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Gawd!  I awoke this morning wondering what I'm doing in this miserable place!
I thought the oath I took was to defend America's shores, not a foreign race!
The French made a mess and ran, now,...

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I reckon time
By my children’s ages
My daughter is 30
My son is 25
No, this happened 
A long time ago
Before I met their mother
How many years was that?

They seemed to be missing 
All at once 
Stan from...

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Lay me to rest in marbled halls with angels at my head,
not lying here in the mud of Ypres with khaki turning red.
Let me die a noble death, one that's worth fighting for,
not to avenge...

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Back in the day 
When we would meet 
Down by the quay 
We'd be discreet 

And wrap our arms 
Around each scent; 
Exotic charms 
Of Orient 

But both of us 
Would not set free 
Our...

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Vietnam was Fifty Years Ago
By Franklin Price
8/30/2018

Vietnam was fifty years ago
Around the world across the sea
God went with me on tour
Now it's just a memory

The Air Force was my service branch
Ground navigation was my field
...

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MEMORIAL DAY 
June 1, 2015

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

To all of you that have ever worn
"THE UNIFORM"
The Uniform of safety and security,
 The Uniform of pride and liberty
THE UNIFORM OF FREEDOM

THE UNIFORM OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
THANK YOU

Thank...

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We lived in Saigon many, many moons ago
Of which I have a tale to share
About a pair of my husband boots 
His favourites…. the ones he loved to wear

A shoe shiner came to the work...

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Kabul Has Fallen

Kabul has fallen
The news screams 
Kabul has fallen
In less than two weeks

The intel officers
Got it so wrong
Everyone said
That Kabul would not fall
That the center would hold

Yet Kabul fell
Faster than anyone thought 
It would

The...

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In 1965, I was enlisted, 
To serve in the battle at Vietnam
For ten senseless years, I fought 
Until the fall of Saigon
 
A medic, my trade, 
In battle- I'd nurse 
All the wounded soldiers... 
The...

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