Thursday, September 6, 2018

Home of The Brave


Photograph by Dianne Woods





(to fight
                  to run)


I.

I believed
they would never
lie

        I believed
        it wasn’t my time
        to die.


I wore the uniform
proud for all
to see

          I shouted for an end
          until they came
          for me.


I left with the possibility 
I may never 
come home again.

          I left with the possibility 
          I may never 
          come home again.


The bravest thing 
I did was 
point their gun

          The bravest thing
          I ever did
          was run.
II.

I did my best 
and prayed each day
to make it home alive

          I watched the news
          and prayed each day
          my country would survive.


Each night I watched
their country 
slip away

          Each night I watched
          my republic
          in decay.


A peace sign
on my helmet
when their lies were known

           A peace sign
           on my jacket
           to bring our brothers home.


III.

When I came back
my country 
had changed

            When I came back
            my fear
            mixed with shame.


I thought that they
would welcome me 
and honor me as their own

            I thought that they
            would understand
            my choice of life or home.


But they hated me
for fighting

          and they hated me
          for running

and we hated
those in power

          as we learned
          their deceitful cunning.


I cursed my country
and cried for 
lost brothers

               I had no answers
               to offer a million 
               mourning mothers.


IV.

The Black Wall
honors the sacrifice 
but my wounds will not heal

               The history of
               my secret life 
               a lifetime to conceal.


Nightly haunting 
memories 
of wrongs they said were right

               Nights of guilty 
               suffering
               for those who would not fight.



The bravest thing
I ever did
was go

               The bravest thing
                I ever said
                was “No.”


~~/ /~~


To know war
before love

To know hate
before peace

Lives change
forever

      When memories 
won’t sleep.



Inspired by the stories of the men and women of the documentary “Vietnam “ by Ken Burns. 


Ken Owen 
September 2018    Van Niddy Press

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