Improvised Explosive Device
The soldiers who were with me
no longer answer to roll call,.
They lie in peace at Calverton
except in my recall.
We were on routine patrol,
In the seemingly pacified town,
When the I.E.D. exploded,
a repurposed artillery round.
The Army, faithful to their word,
did not leave us behind.
On the way to the field hospital
They say I died three times..
Months I spent in a coma,
my broken body tied in bed.
When I came to, Doc had bad news:
I’d never walk again.
Staring at the ceiling
I swore not to be denied.
I swore that I would walk again,
His prognosis I defied..
It took three years before I stood
And walked as once before.
A semblance of the man I was
before I went to war.
Nov 14, 2011
Nov 14, 2011 at 2:28 PM UTC
Improvised Explosive Device
The soldiers who were with me
no longer answer to roll call,.
They lie in peace at Calverton
except in my recall.
We were on routine patrol,
In the seemingly pacified town,
When the I.E.D. exploded,
a repurposed artillery round.
The Army, faithful to their word,
did not leave us behind.
On the way to the field hospital
They say I died three times..
Months I spent in a coma,
my broken body tied in bed.
When I came to, Doc had bad news:
I’d never walk again.
Staring at the ceiling
I swore not to be denied.
I swore that I would walk again,
His prognosis I defied..
It took three years before I stood
And walked as once before.
A semblance of the man I was
before I went to war.
This poem is very loosely based on the life story of fellow poet Jon London. Jon was in the British army in Afghanistan.
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