Battle Scared Streets

Advance: I do believe the beginnings of WWIII, started in Korea, and went onto Vietnam; and then all the little wars in-between culminated any kind of world stability they thought WWI and WWII would bring; and over from all this poured Eastern European wars. And now the Red Horse of Apocalypse is having its day in the Middle East, to include Israel’s continuing war, with its neighbors. But this is just a poem on the Iraqi War II, and perhaps it can be linked to the Afghan war, and Kashmir, so many wars and so many battle scared streets in villages, cities and residential areas:

—The Poem

On the Battle Scared Streets
Throughout Iraq—(Baghdad, Fallujah,
And Ramadi: to name a few)
Is where soldiers meet?
To police (now) the wars stability—;
They seldom sleep,
Six hours on, six off; perhaps
It’s enough; as they listen to
Metallica’s: “For whom the Bell Tolls,”
While watching the clock
And reading anxious letters

Of fiancées back home.

Quarters: they’re back to the hooch,

Like in Vietnam (make-shift
Barracks, for our military men).
They say we won the war, so,

Now it’s down to search and seizure
And close-calls!...

“When they come home—

Will they ever get over it?”
I heard someone state:
“Hard, to say, war has its own
Immortal fates…”

Battalions, regiments—tours

Of duty; I know them all to well:
There’s no advice to give, except:
Duck, don’t give an inch, and
Fight like hell.

#779 7/29/05

Dennis Siluk, Poet and Author see his books at http://www.abe.com and http://www.bn.com