Suppose I’ve been in the Army
all my life and suppose
I’ve just gotten orders for Vietnam,
the place that no one’s talking about
just yet, the place officers go to train
the side we’re on, and I’m afraid
of what I’ll be asked to say and do, though
I’ve been training all my life to do this,
even though they think I am the man they want.
Say all this is what I’m thinking
when I’m in a helicopter, ammo strapped
to my chest, rifle in my hands, sweat trickling down
the small of my back, and suppose
later that month my troop
is ambushed, all of us go down
in the middle of the jungle, and I am 26
and never meet my wife and never see
Chicago and never have a daughter, here in this room
imagining that she is her father
as he went off to war for the first time
the age that she is now.
Circumstance
Show Comments (
)
Comments are automatically closed two weeks after an article's initial publication. See our comments policy for more.
The latest from america
“His presence brings prestige to our nation and to the entire Group of 7. It is the first time that a pope will participate in the work of the G7,” Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said.
“Many conflicting, divergent and often contradictory views of the human person have found wide acceptance … they have led to holders of traditional theories being cancelled or even losing their jobs,” the bishops said.
Robots can give you facts. But they can’t give you faith.
“Irena’s Vow” is true story of a Catholic nurse who used her position to shelter a dozen Jews in World War II-era Poland.