A WAR STORY POEM
Dream Warrior
  Copyright 1999 �

by: James Keltner
Tan Son Nhut
'67 - '68


Dream Warrior

The Wall is dark as in my dream,
 I am still.

The names are like Willie, Peter �
burning into my being.  Friends,
comrades, other men, Warriors all.

I am taken back before the loss,
when we were all happy, had trust and all,
and all.

The pain is great, to my knees I go,
my woman holds me as a child.

I talked to her, I remember, of people
Persons � Places -- Things.

The tears flow, for a moment I see them
The ones I've come to grieve.
Warriors all.
 

I turn and leave shaken to my core �
voices say return at nite,
return at nite, return at nite.
Return -- return.
This I do. 

The Wall is there, the Warriors, too.

They walked the path, as Warriors do.
The voices return, -- carry on, carry on �

You have Baffles on ahead,
these you must win.

The Battles of Happiness -- Trust �
These causes you must win, must win.

Dream, Dream ... Dream on Warrior.

 Reprinted from VSPA Guardmount - Jan 1999

 

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