In my den, I paced,
measured the width
from each angle;
eight by eight.
One bulb burned
brightly overhead.
The commode was a
cold stainless steel thing
projecting from a wall.
My bed was a metal one
with a thin mattress,
with two sheets and
a blanket.
I was in
disciplinary segregation,
(that's another term for Solitary)
Two weeks for refusing to
obey a direct order from a
captain.
I was in the stockade
going AWOL (in peace-time)
I was ornery and a hard-***.
They jailed my body -
but they never broke my mind.
Twice I was in solitary,
but they never broke my mind.
Yelling **** and bayoneting
a straw dummy was not
my passion.
And so I ran away from it all.
Discovering pacifism at
the age of seventeen.
Crossing the ARMY off
of my things to do list.