Join the Army they said

You’ll become a MAN

Little did “they” know

I became like a drop of water

In a pool of soldiers

Giving up identities

Losing our roots

Creating an everlasting bond

Running together

Thinking as one

We shipped out as a unit

To the jungles of Vietnam

Heavy survival packs

Weighted down with ammo

We followed orders

Though we didn’t believe

We ate little

We slept little

We had no baths

Why are we here

Go take the mountain

We moved as droplets

Seeing when the water falls

It doesn’t run clear. It runs RED

Mac’s Story – Part Two

I survived the mountain

And others after that

My comrades fell

Running red

I had the chance to love

Producing a beautiful son

Unaccepted by his grandfather

We were sent away

My survival was for him

Our own country turned on us

The caring lady Nan was not deterred

She loved us both

Shunning the scoffers

We opened our lives

Helping other veterans

Looking for no thanks

A vacation to Niagara Falls

One winter season

Went terribly wrong

Red lights shining on water

Sent my mind spinning

To horrible killing fields

I barely survived

I’m sorry. I hate waterfalls

Written in response to Charli Mills April 11, 2022, prompt at Carrot Ranch Literary: In 99 words (no more, no less), write a story using the phrase, water falls. Where is the water coming from? How does it shape a story? Who does it involve? Go where the prompt leads!