Conflicted conflict |
Fragmentation hellish tropic heat creeping Charlie dread sweat drips Hueys keep the beat pounding in my head fear grips napalm blossoms blaze whistling mortar thumps wet mud drifting diesel haze near-miss foxhole jumps dried blood carpet bombing runs agent orange tang stay low jammed-up rusty guns coffins grace Danang cargo gung-ho ROTC fools TV protest march smoke dope propaganda rules baby-killer charge lose hope jungle rotten boots slap another leech what next chewed-up raw recruits come- to-Jesus speech mind wrecked body-count patrol nighttime jungle hikes warm rain punji-planted hole paranoia strikes eye strain one too many points crosshairs on my back fear blooms pass another joint stare at Looey’s rack go boom bounce back to the world nothing much to say strange toll mental demons swirl VA turns away lost soul Author's note: ▶︎ |