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Poetry © by Thon 1998
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Webpage by Jilli / Kubali
I REMEMBER
By: Bob Bearden aka Thon
I remember
Nights so dark I thought light had died.
And pain so great that I broke and I cried.
Fear like a serpent in the pit of my gut
And rain like a torrent on the roof of my hut.
Jungle and heat and insect sounds
Flak vests and rifles and extra rounds.
The smell of the smoke when the firing quit
The smell of death, and the fear of it.
Praying to God with all my might
And letters from home, to beg me to write.
Lifeless eyes that stared at the sky
And young-old Men, too hard to cry.
And blood and loss and empty night
And Hell on earth before my sight.
Choppers and flares to light the sky
And reaching the point, I wanted to die.
Afraid leg or arm was what I would give
Afraid even more that then I would live.
Crutches and wheelchairs terrified me
A crippled young man, all I would be.
Words from a girl "I've found someone new"
"He's not in the war, not a killer like you."
Staring in eyes just as haunted as mine
And letters to mom, with only one line.
"Don't want or need, any cookies from home,"
"they'll write if I'm killed, please leave me alone."
I remember.