Long Tour of duty Poems

Gateway town, Mississippi and Missouri river flooding confluence,
with its celebration of manifest destiny, its looming, iconic archway.
Stainless westward marker, its culture flowed southward for influence
within the lawn-jockey, pink flamingo neighborhoods of moral decay. 

T.S, Eliot,...

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There you are
face to face with me on Skype
thousands of miles away.
A grown man, but still my son,
Lieutenant Colonel, US Army;
Iraq War, February 2004...
You are there.

You tell me you are safe– 
after all, you are...

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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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First person shooter,
on a hate tour of duty,
swinging a bullet sling blade
Buying a death row ticket,
worth fifteen minutes of fame
First person murder shooter;
womb-to-the-cradle-to-the-grave robber,
using your Automatic Revolver
to solve your anti-social mental problems
Sharpen that sling blade
on...

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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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I’d hang my head in shame
The day I stop querying the man in my mirror
Whose name I’d associate with blame
For daring to conceal the fear and tear

My conscience weeps as the man fails to keep
Promises...

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Just One More Day

To: My brother Calvin 1948-2003

If I had one more day with you in my life,
I would thank you for imparting so much insight.         ...

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Oh! Sir!

Great teachers changed the world for me,
I sometimes dreamed of teaching too!
"Yet, 'gift' to teach!" stays blasphemy
While 'taught' to teach still make kids blue!
The Peace Corps pushed some faults aside,
Grace opened doors to serve...

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They called him Lawrence of Neasden
And he dressed in Khaki shorts
And he always rode a camel 
Which he kept in his car port

They arrived there in Central Neasden
Having ridden all through the night
To arrive with...

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As December winds swirled the snow in drifts outside
   Lisa covered Mama, held her hand as she cried
“It’s my last Christmas, I know it in my heart, dear
   Send my prayers...

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Emerald shiny baubles
attract wizard eyes ...
Balaam al-Oz
Assyrian acquisitions
be kryptonite-colored vanity
Ownership is an Alexandrian transaction,
a Grecian war rhetoric reaction
Gehazi greedy ... 
take all that your Philistine soul see,
as much as your twelve fingers can reach
Sennacherib eyes...

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My wife joined the Army - to help us pay the bills.
Didn't seem to care that this really caused her ills.
Helped her get in shape before she went away.
Even though I know by my side...

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Everyone's  a warrior that each one has to strive; 
One may fight for glory or simply to survive. 
The brave may render efforts derived from self-esteem; 
The coward may suddenly take action to liberate...

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He's used to war, he fights real hard,
He's a soldier, he's battle scarred.
The enemy is weak, there is nothing to fear,
His compassion is gone, he has no tears.

He was taught well, was taught how to...

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To those behind the badge, who have paid the ultimate price
To serve and to protect—a tremendous sacrifice
To defend and shield the blameless you presented us your all
The struggle against corruption, you answered every call

To those...

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Once, in America

I saw a wonderful picture of a female soldier coming home 
after a tour of duty defending America against the enemy
In Syria or some other contested country.
She embraces her daughter, a perfect moment;...

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Duty called once again for the warrior brave and true.
His loving family gathered about to wish him a sad adieu.
The somber skies cast a pall upon the poignant scene,
As they bid farewell to their hero,...

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"Tour of Duty"

go forth and conquer
go forth and multiply
we are taught like 
good little madams, 
it’s fed to us right
(not left) from the get go 
down our throats, 
it’s ingrained 
in the majority of us,
then,...

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The brave young soldier had served his tour in the dreadful battle,
Midst the deafening roar of cannon and the muskets' constant rattle!
He'd spent months in the trenches in the cold, the mud and gore,
And had...

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A beginning of a new chapter is what we all looked forward to
With peace, a still mind and a soul that is brand new 
Not giving it up to fate but knowing God has your...

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Another tour of duty, the days so long,
away from their family,  longing of home.
Orders are given, and a soldier stands tall,
sacrificing tomorrow, sacrificing it all.
Some people don't understand, just what soldiers risk,
they have never...

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She waits for him to call her
But the phone just doesn't ring
A knock on the door, shatters her soul
From the heartache that it brings

There stands two men in uniform
They ask her to be seated
Her heart...

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The Old Salt was a special man who came along in a time
when he was needed most.

A time that is now gone forever.
When men believed and sacrificed, when hero’s walked the earth in mass.

When patriotism...

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Silence does a reconnaissance around the room 
betraying not my artillery of thoughts
that acknowledge the elephant in the room 
so starts the ceremony that seeks to save soldiers

body language begins to breakdown barriers 
as actions...

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Miles past the nightstand
over the plastic water bottle.
the Ambien pill dispenser
and the soul-bruised eye shades,
an arrhythmic clock 
ticks like a bombed-out tank.

Of course there is the lampshade
(that lighthouse for the luminescent krill
of submerged consciousness)
that seems...

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