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Jutted out square jaw,
horse gruff voice,
Smoky Bear Campaign
Hat pulled low almost
covering his intense
glaring eyes. Hat Brim
slung rakishly low,
three regulation fingers
above the bridge of his nose.

Criticizing profanities
hurled from his mouth
like exploding grenades,
tongue lashing orders
and corrections his
stock and trade.

Everything about
him is tight and
fully squared away.

Gets in your face
so close you can
smell what he had
for lunch, barking
spraying projectile
spittle that standing
at rigid attention you
cannot wipe away.

Hard earned lessons
taught and learned
that last for a life time.

Tormentor, teacher
mentor, hated at first,
respected and loved
by the end.
Perhaps every young dumb
aimless 20-year-old should go
through Marine Corps Boot
Camp, have the soft metal of
their backbones shaped and
pounded into hardened steel.

Dedicated to Gunnery
Sergeant D.L. Dolan
USMC. My Senior Drill
Instructor in Boot Camp.
Long ago passed away but
still fondly ever remembered.
Along with my father and
a football coach or two,
the most revered mentors
in my life. "The things that do
not **** us, make us stronger."
With more life behind us than ahead,
as we age, though our futures dim,
our memories brighten each day
that remains.
Life is a colorful illustrated
album, each page a sustaining
memory.
 Nov 2021 CK Baker
guy scutellaro
a sky of caring
a rabbit foot on a chain

two 6 packs
3 friends

take me back to the river
by the railroad tracks

and shelly
and keats
and junior kimbrough

take me back
to the river by the railroad tracks

and the flat pennies we held
in the palms of our hearts


fall
is a forgiving season

so take me back to the river by the tracks

where the river runs
deep
and wide
and the memories have souls
If you…

  If you see an old man with an unsure gait
Coming your way, do not pretend he is a bit of fluff.
If he looks at you it is because you are lovely
He admires the beautiful you looking like his granddaughter.
If he nods and smiles do not be offended
In his eyes, his wife is beautiful too.
If he says good morning, do not act as you do not hear
Say good morning also and it will gladden his heart.
if the old man has a glint in his eyes, it is because he remembers
all the women he had met in his life.
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