routine jungle training
Keep calm. Carry on.
artwork by saydung89 at pixabay
routine jungle training
it is still raining
in the jungle
not heavy
but the dink dink dink
on the helmets
drives you crazy
and it's damn cold
even with the ponchos
and the rifle's gonna
get very screwed
and we can't light
a cigarette
even if we wanted to,
trash the rules
should have just
abort this patrol,
haul us back to base
or to the orchard
we passed yesterday
where we stole papayas
off the trees
and the irate farmer
came rushing at us
with a machete
and we ran
like kids caught stealing
(we were)
past a laughing village lass
a very well-endowed one
and if we had time
we would probably
exchange name cards
but we are taking no chances
with a farmer swinging a blade
so you see
it's one bad shit
after another.
15/11/2010
**********
This looks like a one sentence poem, hey?
Dire Straits - Ride Across The River
© cheong lee san ( dsnake1 ) 2021
routine jungle training
it is still raining
in the jungle
not heavy
but the dink dink dink
on the helmets
drives you crazy
and it's damn cold
even with the ponchos
and the rifle's gonna
get very screwed
and we can't light
a cigarette
even if we wanted to,
trash the rules
should have just
abort this patrol,
haul us back to base
or to the orchard
we passed yesterday
where we stole papayas
off the trees
and the irate farmer
came rushing at us
with a machete
and we ran
like kids caught stealing
(we were)
past a laughing village lass
a very well-endowed one
and if we had time
we would probably
exchange name cards
but we are taking no chances
with a farmer swinging a blade
so you see
it's one bad shit
after another.
15/11/2010
**********
This looks like a one sentence poem, hey?
Dire Straits - Ride Across The River
© cheong lee san ( dsnake1 ) 2021
Labels: 70's, camaraderie, landscape, military, one sentence
posted by dsnake1 at 12:09 AM
13 Comments:
This one made me smile with old memories. I remember how shitty those kinds of days were, especially if it was cold and we had been hiking for miles and miles before doing any patrolling. I can practically smell the weapons, the mud, and our unwashed bodies. On days like this, I remember thinking, It won't last forever. It won't last forever. And it didn't. And that's such a good thing. I'm a little jealous of the papaya stealing (yep, I'm horrible like that), there wasn't much fruit to steal in the North and South Carolina swamps.
You brought the scene to life!
When reality itself is a nightmare!
Hahaha, a kindred folk!
No, it won't last forever. At the end of the march or patrol, we would, while cleaning our weapons, have a good laugh and a smoke. And the papayas are sweet and juicy. :)
Colleen,
Thank you!
I think writing in short lines helps. :)
Rosemary,
Yes, it cam be tough, even nightmarish, but there are also moments of peace and hilarity. :)
The horrors (and accidental hilarities) of war...
Thank you, Magical Mystical Teacher! :)
Just in time
the right time
time for a period.
I liked this, made me think trying to decide if I'd ever stolen any fruit or food. Perhaps an apple off the neighbor's tree.
Army days
I fell in
in a hole
when it was dark
dark as all get out
but in as few hours
they came to rescue me
and took me back
back to the base
riding in a jeep
for my first
another first
first ride in a jeep
an army jeep at that
riding in the dark
but
in the dark
none of my friends
could seem riding
instead of
marching another
two miles
down the trail.
..
We have to find the funny (or mischievously invent it ourselves) in bleak times. I don't anything about war, but I do know those moments sustain my spirit when life seems determined to grind me down.
Jim,
Thank you!
Always glad to hear about your army escapades. Something to break the boredom, but getting injured should not be in the plans. I once had a close shave during a topography exercise and nearly fell into a well in an abandoned village. It was just a deep hole in the ground and covered by branches and dead leaves. I didn't know why I did not take another step, perhaps the Big Man up in the sky was looking after me. :)
Rommy,
Thank you.
Yes, sometimes it's just those funny, hilarious moments that pull us through a bad day.
To all my readers in the USA, a Happy July 4th !! 😃
Stream of consciousness ... at its finest!
Thank you, Helen! :)
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