There was dirt and dried blood
on the face of the child
Round innocent eyes
looking back
I wiped away what I could
The child too frightened to cry
left holding the remnants
of her knickknacks
Now alone on her own
most likely at the
solemn age of four
I wanted to take her home
but the war rages on

The refugees along with the girl
are loaded on the back of the truck
Joe said there's no way in Hell
they'd make it to where they had to go.
"**** ." I muttered under my breath
"How I hate this ******* war ."
"Come on and eat ," said Joe "it may be the last time you know ."

.
Fifty years ago
to the month
that they laid
you in the ground

.
Only now
have I found
the words
to make a sound

.
You came home
closed coffin bound
Not suitable
to be viewed

.
Only now do I frown
Thinking about
the name in stone
that's hewed

.
That day you died
I was left to cry
I didn't know
what to do

.
Two teenage lives
both said goodbye
never
to be again

.
One under
21 gun salute
The other
under pain

.
They are
still burying you
in my mind
my time has been unkind

.
I've lived through
a thousand deaths
looking for reasons
to find

.
Resigned
I am bound
by the truth
of October '69



Dedicated to :
Marine PFC
William Le Grand Dawes
Born 6/24/50
Died 10/19/69
Quang Ngai Province
Vietnam

There's a Revolution coming,
The boots are on the streets;
It's calling from the graves,
We're stirring from our sleep.
There's a hunger in the eyes;
The troops are on their feet.
The revolutions's coming
And the enemy's in retreat.

The mob appeal
Is running lights,
Towered minions
Join the fight
To rein in one percent
From their ***** heights.
Desks in towers,
Facades of power,
Will tumble to defeat.
The gravity of greed
Will drag them through the streets.

The bell at four
Will sound no more;
The chorus chants
For a holy war,
For salvation,
Then, for some more.

There's a revolution
On the way,
We'll re-write the laws,
We'll line up the Romanovs,
And shake down all the Shahs.
There's a revolution coming
And it's coming
With just cause.

perhaps I die ignored
            silence my reward
                   neither from nor toward ...

                                  but waiting.

ghosts crawl into this white screen
millions of poems haunt me to sleep

we visit this graveyard
broken bones
sacrificed souls

we're dead inside
poetry keeps us tied to life

burn the pages
I won't ever reach heaven

we wander into the depths of our hearts

it gets darker
and darker
before you reach the light
dissolving into your eyes

die
die
die a little inside

spirits
hand in hand
amidst your endless words