I was tasked to write a Villanelle for creative writing class. Through the years I have met a lot of Vietnam vets who returned damaged. I decided to write this poem as a tribute to those soldiers. Though I tell the story here of a Vietnam vet, the wars are interchangeable. The one constant is the warrior. .
The War That I'm
Waging
When I
close my eyes I can still see
Can't
shake the memories that my mind embraces
The war
that I'm waging is inside of me
Sleepless
nights, husband, father, in absentee
Unable to
forget unforgettable places
When I
close my eyes I can still see
Two
tours of changing good men to debris
Through
the crosshairs, exploding yellow faces
The war
that I'm waging is inside of me
Mekong flowed
red to the North China Sea
Filigrees
of horrors that no time erases
When I
close my eyes I can still see
A long
ago war that I can never break free
Jack
Daniels and VA meds temporarily displaces
The war
that I'm waging is inside of me
The hell
that I'm living forever will be
No
Lord's Prayer can earn me God's graces
When I close my eyes I can still see
The war
that I'm waging is inside of me
by Rick Wainright
1 comment:
I know several Vietnam vets who live in my neighborhood, my brother was in country in 1967, 68 and 69. For the most part, the guys I know are proud of their service. You know I always acknowledge a vet, I take time to talk if I can. But my brother has never talked about his experience at all. I remember the letters my mom and dad received and the way my mom always cried when she read them. I can't imagine what they must have been through. Thank you for writing this.
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