A Poet At War

He says it’s not part of him,

he remembers
ripping tongues lashing words to make him fight,

he rolled in dirt to hear his mother tell him to keep going

and when the village scorned him for being there,

he stood tall
trying to find reasons to move on,

and he toured twice in

hell

and in hell he met himself,

when the sun rose above airborne
and parachutes fell,

he could only call himself a fool
and fought not to be a government issued
uniform,

he surrounded himself with photos hanging
over war zones,

and when that wasn’t enough,

he refused to cry,

two tours in Iraq and they didn’t even want him there,

“listen,” he said, “some don’t want to be helped, some want to
be left alone, help yourself first, then you help,”

but when they told him he had to go back, he hung onto

the woman speaking on a video to get him through
long dark nights in deserts aiming to kill

the army colors of his country

and the eagle’s wings fell.

A picture of my father in military training.

Photo Credit

Photo © Melinda Cochrane – All Rights Reserved

Guest Author Bio

Melinda Cochrane
Melinda Cochrane was raised in Newfoundland. She graduated from Memorial University with a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Education. Her first publication was with ditch poetry and The Stray Branch literary magazine. Melinda has a chapter of work going into print with Backalong Books in their Arts Informed Inquiry series. She currently also has a collection of poetry going into publication called “The man who stole father’s boat”, also with Backalong Books. She teaches English in Montreal at Beaconsfield high school.

Blog / Website: http://melindacochrane.weebly.com/.

Did you enjoy this article?

Please let the author know by leaving them a comment below!

And, subscribe to our free weekly digest!

Simply add your email below. A confirmation email will be sent to you.

Email

Recent Guest Author Articles:

• 5 Easy Stretches Everyone Should Do Each Morning
• The Hermit Chronicles: Cup of Conversation
• Trailer Park Poet - Part 4
• Trailer Park Poet - Part 3
• Household Products You Should Stop Buying and Using