The Eleventh Hour

Today I awoke,
Not a word I spoke.
~
Started off like any other,
Went about my chores.
~
Walked in the kitchen to see the paper, scaning with my eyes for something to read.
Soon I would feel my eyes start to bleed.
~
I glanced at the date, that's when I said,
Today we celebrate all our wars dead.
~
It wasn't long, I had started to cry,
Asking myself questions, and wondering why.
So many friends were chosen. Why wasn't I?
~
Names had come back,
Forever their presents, I will lack.
~
I started to think for the time I had spent with them, at this moment it seemed so precious, I will never forget them.
All of the fun, still it seems so hard to remember when.
~
I also remember, one by one, hearing of their death,
Can remember being told, while holding my breath.
~
As I sit here and write, my hands start to shake.
~
To the clock I looked, both hands, they shook.
~
It's evening now, 11 o'clock,
To my wife I won't talk.
~
She turns over. Something tells me I should write,
I can't even kiss my wife goodnight.
~
It wasn't before long, spots had appeared on this page,
As I wiped my face I was angered with rage.
~
I remember Eddie, the rides we would take,
Sit and talk at the beach near the lake.
~
There was also Jim Flynn, A year older than me,
Another whose face would never see.
~
John, he played in a band, was also sent there,
When he returned, forever cursed to remain in a chair.
They had never told his wife,
What a way to start a new life.
~
My head starts to burn, as their faces return.
All these names, I want to relearn.
~
Jose, he was cool,
We had both attended, then right after school. He never came back.
~
Another came home, was never the same,
Always withdrawn, dropped out of the game.
~~~~~~~~~
Now it is getting so hard to write,
I suppose I should quit, and call it a night.
~
All of my friends I'll never forget,
It's best I stop, I'm covered with sweat.
~
The next day I awoke, once again started to cry,
how I wish this all was a lie.
~
They were chosen, why was not I?
Written by Tom (BabyB0Omer@aol.com)

The Last One Home

The world, we called it from way over there,
when we found out that life, really wasn't fair.

Honor, respect, acknowledging our elders,
but the love left behind, someone else held her.

The dreams they still haunt me, and so would they you,
the lost comrades, some I never knew.

A nation divided in more ways than one
college students, it was said, "Shot just for fun."

Guns all around us, some new cannon fodder,
the youth of our country, they would never father.

Limbs all around me, hurled in pain,
our govenment held back, it all seemed insane.

Madness at home, we were called, "Baby Killer!"
The strange wave of hate , made us all very bitter.

The people we stood for, at home fast asleep,
so ashamed, that they wished, we were all six feet deep.

The grave that they dug me, over there is quite spare,
if only becuae, my remains , you left there.
But the God I pray to, finally took me away, and said, I was Welcome, in his USA.
(Written by J. Stephen Keller......B432508@aol.com)

War

Haunting words and midnight screams
Pierce my mind and bend my dreams
Or is it a nightmare you have wrought?
~~
Searching for the reasons why
Though never knowing all
The pain intense, the horrible cry
The stumbling as you fall
~~
Stories thick with a grim plot
And vivid as the light of day
Hanging on to what you've got
While wishing it away
~~
Demons that will never banish
Light conversation hard to make
Suffering that does not ever vanish
This entanglement wide awake
~~
Some say dumb luck brought them back
Trained in the art of stepping aside
Maybe someday you'll catch some slack
As you swallow that uneasy pride
~~
All is not fair in love and war
Never a truer thing said
Body shaking to the core
While the heart is bled
~~
Hoping that you will let me in
As I try to understand
I cast no judgement, I see no sin
I leave that in God's hand.

Written by Shelly (Sara jo118@aol.com)

First Confirmation

today i was confirmed
no holy water, no feast
no parties, not even a priest
nothing really reaffirmed
except an affirmative
congratulations were in order
as the general order of the day
but no priests were present
to allow me to pray
for a soul that went to someplace
what religion is this?
~~~~
There were no beers
at least for a while
he looked like a man
though was probably a child
confirmation!
It had been confirmed
and now inscribed
just for the record
a permanent record
written in my head
one confirmed
one more dead
~~~~
Why i wonder
is the date so hard to forget
i just can't relate
days had turned
to time that did not move
i was only 20 years old
how old was he?
did he have a family?
it could have been
the other way around
i could have been the confirmed
kill
~~~~
Written by Tom on December 15, 1968 (BabyB0Omer@aol.com)

Precious Life

Soldier brave stand tall
battle the demons within
hold on precious life.
Written for and Dedicated to Paul by Nora (SistrMoone@aol.com)

Missing In Action

Young men from all walks of life
Are taken right out of high school
Old enough to drink, old enough to die
The Government's Golden Rule
~
Shipped off to a land far away
My son, your time has come
Teeth clenched, nothing to say
"Your only friend is your gun"
~
You are among those who gave their all
In the rice patties and the trenches
Knowing not, when you would fall
Gladly you'd die for a matter of inches
~
Facing death around every corner
Friends passing on before your eyes
There was no time to be a mourner
While being ever watchful of the skies
~
Doing the job you were sent to do
Leaving the real world behind
Securing freedom for "High and Mighty" few
While bearing the load for all mankind
~
Then comes the terrifying day
Shot down behind enemy lines
All you can think is to do is pray
"Comrades, don't leave me behind"
~
But the plane never comes
And the sky seems without compassion
You are gone, but not forgotten
You are Missing In Action.
Written by Ed (ThePoet170@aol.com)

To A Very Special Lady

Her eyes were brown, no, they were blue!
I can't remember if she was short or tall
I think she may have been a blonde,
but I'm not sure I can recall.

I do remember her, tired smile
and that she was dressed in green
but even thorough a morphine haze
she was the most beautiful sight I ever had seen.

Her hands were soft and gentle,
her voice calm and serene
She assured me of my safety now,
no matter where ever I had been.

Sadly, I met her only once,
and then we were to part
But this woman has always
had a very special place
Deep inside my heart

Her name, I may have known it
but it left me long ago
I know I'll never forget her
as old as I may grow.

With thought of her in my mind
I give a salute to all
who went before and after her
to answer our countries call.

To see her standing by us again,
in front of our hallowed wall
is to everyone of us
the greatest Honor of all.
(Written For and Dedicated to All Vietnam Nurses by Dave on January 23, 1998)
Hi Pull@aol.com

PLEASE HELP THE CAUSE BY ADOPTING YOUR VERY OWN POW/MIA
Hey Gunny! I CARE what happened to our MIAs!
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Please help in the cause. Contact some of these sites to learn how!
Title: WHO CAN WE COUNT ON?
AII POW-MIA
Welcome to 'Prairie Ridge'
P.O.W. Network
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This page is now dedicated to Paul Dunn who suddenly passed away last year. He contributed poetry for this page, and served our Country in Vietnam. God Speed Paul!