For a considerable chunk of my life
The years when I was formed
High school to young adulthood,
The time to dream dreams and hope to get laid,
All us tender white boys were obsessed with staying out of the rice paddies of Viet Nam.
Our draft lottery numbers were our horoscopes on steroids.
We saw villages burn and marched in the streets.
Patriotism gave way to anger and fear and disgust,
Something broke inside us as a people.
The carnage of WW Two the big one
Was across some mystic bridge to be viewed with approval,
While the Greatest Nation On Earth
Dropped death from the sky on children on television,
and we hardened our hearts.
We hardened our hearts, to save us from self-loathing and despair.
But failed and did not know it.
We became hard and hopeless and cynical like some European,
Pragmatic as Stalin,
Blind to nuances as moles.
A Wow last line: “Blind to nuances as moles.”
I have started this comment repeatedly. I can’t find the right words to explain how much I appreciate this, love this, am awed by this. It captures the emotion and images so perfectly. Thank you.
Heart-wrenching-raw-honest. An eye opening view into two monumental wars. Incredible imagery. I loved the lines…
Dropped death from the sky on children on television,
and we hardened our hearts.
We hardened our hearts, to save us from self-loathing and despair.
But failed and did not know it.” Yes, Vietnam was the first televised war-heartbreaking…this poem is incredibly well written on so many levels! Well done!
thank you for the responses. i read this AT AN OPEN MIC tonight.