my old sergeant
I am too tired to write anything new this week. So, bear with another old post.
This is about a chance meeting between old comrades.
photo by click, image from morguefile.com
my old sergeant
my old sergeant
calls to me
from a bus stop.
he still remembers me
maybe i am the nerdy one
or
i don't give him trouble.
we talk
and laugh.
we are old men now
how time has aged a soldier,
he walks with a cane today.
was it not long ago
i saw him dismount
from an armoured carrier
carbine slung across
his chest
walking through a haze
of red dust
churned up
by battle vehicles?
we talk
about the old days.
we laugh
cough a bit
and then
go about our
separate ways.
19/10/07
********
“On the way down the hill we walked three abreast in the cobblestone street, drunk and laughing and talking like men who knew they would separate at dawn and travel to the far corners of the earth.”
― Hunter S. Thompson, The Rum Diary
Shared on Poetry Pantry #200 at Poets United.
© cheong lee san ( dsnake1 ) 2014
This is about a chance meeting between old comrades.
my old sergeant
my old sergeant
calls to me
from a bus stop.
he still remembers me
maybe i am the nerdy one
or
i don't give him trouble.
we talk
and laugh.
we are old men now
how time has aged a soldier,
he walks with a cane today.
was it not long ago
i saw him dismount
from an armoured carrier
carbine slung across
his chest
walking through a haze
of red dust
churned up
by battle vehicles?
we talk
about the old days.
we laugh
cough a bit
and then
go about our
separate ways.
19/10/07
********
“On the way down the hill we walked three abreast in the cobblestone street, drunk and laughing and talking like men who knew they would separate at dawn and travel to the far corners of the earth.”
― Hunter S. Thompson, The Rum Diary
Shared on Poetry Pantry #200 at Poets United.
© cheong lee san ( dsnake1 ) 2014
Labels: camaraderie, military, old age, Poetry, soldiers
posted by dsnake1 at 11:32 PM
11 Comments:
so true.. when we age, we are just old men.. but in those meetings we can become young again.. liked the way you mixed past and present-
it is interesting running into those old friends....esp when we shared such an intense moment...and after we have moved beyond it...and we have lost a bit of what brought us together in it....
Oh I like this. You had nothing to say to each other. It was a time you both would have rather forgotten. I like the brevity of your poems. Quirkly little pieces.
ah! the lucky survivors; nice poem
have a blessed Sunday
much love...
Ravage of time....nicely done..
Good piece as usual. I've been traveling to writers groups with a 74 yr. old retired Master "Sarg". (He writes flash fiction and still tells old jokes he laughs at, I think that's part of their MOS :-)
ZQ
Poignant, Lee San - two aging gladiators exchanging pleasantries. Likely both of you remembering the past as you walked away. I love the description of him - I can see him so clearly,climbing down from the carrier.
A vignette which belies the intensity of the past when it was the present...
Bjorn,
good to hear from you. i am glad you liked how i mixed the past and the present. :)
Brian,
yes, it was quite unexpected. we must have lots to talk, and then it turned out otherwise. :)
Cressida,
well, you may be right about "would have rather forgotten". thanks for your kind words.:)
Gillena,
Thank you! :)
Sumana,
oh yes, we are getting on in years. :D
ZQ,
your old Sarg doesn't seem to fade away. :)
Sherry,
gladiators? nah, more like 2 guys just doing their job. :)
Susan,
Thank you! :)
Oh--I love this slice of life--cough a bit, and move on--nicely done!
glad you liked this slice of life, Audrey. :)
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