When I Came Back from Vietnam

Just another veteran's piece

When I Came Back from Vietnam


I never knew 'til I got in
The life I'd chosen to lead.
I joined the war we'd never win.
I watched your children bleed.

They loaded me on that DC-10
Along with all the others.
I swore I would go back again,
So I could mend my brothers.

I didn't enroll for a higher school,
Or flee the border avoiding the hassle.
I do not have a garden pool.
I won't retire in an urban castle.

I came home a volunteer
To mend and become fit,
Expecting loving parades and cheers,
But upon my face you hatefully spit.

Look at me, withered and old.
For forty years, hard I've worked.
When I came home, you were cold
And stung me with your smirks.

I defended your right to speak
And criticize my behaviors.
Recently, as terrorism hit it's peak,
Boys like me became your saviors.

I hope someday you will see.
You made me feel like half a man,
When you coldly turned your back on me,
When I came back from Vietnam.