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!
04/21/2022 at 14:45
I like the stark truth in your verse. Sometimes you just gotta tell it like it is! ❤
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04/23/2022 at 13:25
Thanks Colleen. The truth is tough for many veterns.
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04/23/2022 at 16:42
It sure is. ❤️
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04/25/2022 at 16:43
The truth in these two pieces is raw and the words hit the reader right where we feel. Very powerful and deserving of a much, broader audience.
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04/25/2022 at 16:50
Thanks Michael. I think I’ve mentioned I also belong to a Veterans’ Writing Group. We are putting together a second anthology. Perhaps I will submit this to be included and note that iit is fiction, but very real.
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