Sunday, February 11, 2007

Lonely when away from home

The mood this week is black, it was crazy days in the office. So here's a moody, angry piece for the weekend.

It was written some time ago, something about my army days. This piece has
been heavily edited.


barbed wire
image enhanced by dsnake1
from a photo from bigfoto.com


Lonely when away from home


Tomorrow, we will be flying over the South China Sea
& home.

after weeks of lugging weapons & fatigue
over rolling hills
sloshing across muddy fields
sleep-marched through small villages
where little children followed you
as if you were movie stars
asking questions, begging for money,
enough is enough

even the placid shores
of Sun Moon Lake
was a short respite
to rest sore limbs
or the whores of Taichung
with their ample cleavage
& tiny shorts
caged in barred rooms like animals
were just fickle distractions.

but tonight, we went on a crazed binge
the last day of R&R
in downtown Taipei
in smoky pubs
we guzzled
like there was no tomorrow
pissed till
our faces greener
than the neon on the walls

one last night in a foreign city
we sat by the road kerbs staring, singing
of brotherhood, to the bruised hills
we were leaving behind.
we shared a smoke
raised beer bottles to the stars
to the jetliners
screaming into the airport
then
as the black shell of a sky fell on us
my comrades, my brothers
my thoughts, their thoughts we tumbled towards home.

Tomorrow, we will be flying over the South China Sea
& home



1988
revised April 2002
revised 01/01/07
****************

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14 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Great stuff, Dsnake. As always, I love your army poems.

11 February, 2007 17:19  
Blogger gautami tripathy said...

This is beautiful. You too along me too. And now I am glad to be back home!

11 February, 2007 17:24  
Blogger J. Andrew Lockhart said...

good one --- being from 1988 and you were in the army, makes me think that we're around the same age?

11 February, 2007 17:27  
Blogger dsnake1 said...

hey gilbert,
thanks!
missing your works, you have not been posting much lately. busy with work? :)

gautami,
home is where the heart is. :)
but the camaraderie of a group cannot be underestimated.

hi andrew,
thank you.
i wrote this a decade after i left . i think i'm older , i'm in my 50's. :)

11 February, 2007 20:09  
Blogger polona said...

a sense of alienation and camaraderie in this one...
well done, dsnake!

12 February, 2007 01:12  
Blogger floots said...

a good one dsnake
it feels real
desolate
tragic
but with hope at the end of it
love the way you put it together too

12 February, 2007 02:38  
Blogger Pat Paulk said...

Wow!! Dsnake, been there and done this!! I love it!! One day Andrew will get to be our age, shame we can't get to be his.

12 February, 2007 08:18  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Ah, Pat. It's only romantic retrospectively. All able-bodied male citizens in Dsnake's and my country get to live life like this at the age of 18.

Dsnake, yes, I've been busy with so many things, but plan to get back to poetry very soon. I set up a new blog too. Visit me here in future.

12 February, 2007 11:26  
Blogger dsnake1 said...

hi polona,
"sense of alienation."
i guess it works! :)

floots,
yes, it's about hope at the end of it.

pat,
been there, done that!
one day, Andrew will get to my age, but he's already one up. he's having his book published. :)

gilbert,
A very appropriate name for your new blog. :)

12 February, 2007 21:42  
Blogger magiceye said...

wow ... a very telling tale of what war can do to the psyche...
beautifully told indeed!

12 February, 2007 22:06  
Blogger dsnake1 said...

hey magiceye,
and it's not even war yet. just a tough training exercise. :)

12 February, 2007 22:39  
Blogger J. Andrew Lockhart said...

I just came back to read this -- yes, you're a bit older -- it's getting harder to find some, though. :)

14 February, 2007 14:29  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Oh, Dsnake, this personal account of your war experience is a tough read for me. I can understand the anger, although not the same as you lived it. It will stay with you always. I'm glad you posted it here. Missing those dear to you who are ambushed. Your group is like family when you're together in those circumstances.

The photo of being tied in knots reminds me of your stomach and/or torture... well, I know mine is in knots of anguish from reading your work. Your writings are so powerful.
Hugs,
GeL

14 February, 2007 15:02  
Blogger dsnake1 said...

hi andrew,
yeah, it's hard to find some, most would have run out of gas.. :)

oh GEL,
always welcome your comments.

your view of the wire has given me a new perspective. interesting! i was looking at the symbolic intertwined lives our group was leading during that time. and barbed wire is always a strong representation of the military.

thanks for the hugs! :)

14 February, 2007 21:50  

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