on cleaning my storeroom, a medal..

It is a military medal. It was not given for valour, wounded in action, or combat under fire. No, none of that. For the mundane reason of completing my National Service.

It sits there among my books, dusty and lonely, and sometimes I take it out for a shine and I thought that the plastic box that comes with it could be better.


image by dsnake1

medal


my friends told me
don't waste time
don't collect it.
but i did
in my best
saturday polyester,
received it
both hands
from a LTC,
the handshake
was warm, friendly.
my wife who came along
smiled, couldn't
understand
the army lingo.
we had some food
lots of beer,
i looked around
for old buddies,
there were not many
and when we met
we couldn't talk dirty.
the wives, the girlfriends,
you know.

later in the taxi home
i took out
that piece of metal
holding it
looking at it
as the kilometres
flashed by,
thinking of my comrades.
i was right to come
i deserved it,
for the mud on my boots
for the carbon in the rifles
for the nights out in the rain

even if all those
are best forgotten,

for one simple truth
i love this country


03/08/07
********


Note: It was a long time ago, 1987, to be exact.

on cleaning my storeroom, a gecko..

This is a series of poems that I wanted to do for some time, but keep shelving it because 1) I am feeling lazy 2) thought it wasn't a good idea. I am writing about what happens when I try to clean up my storeroom.

Of course the storeroom didn't get much of a cleaning. That's to be expected when poetry got in the way.


image by dsnake1
from a photo from the Net


gecko



it waddles
        on
         the
         dust
        coated
        wall
      defying
      gravity

   taking its sweet
       sweet
        time
         then
        it turns
         its head
         its black
     beady eyes seem to say
           l o o k
          we survive
          millions of
            years
             you
           reptile


and
i could only
get angry
and
wave
my rolled up
newspaper
at it.


03/08/07
********