Lawrence Hall
Mhall46184@aol.com


                                                  A Japanese Army Cap

                         "A fool lies here who tried to hustle the east"

                                                          -Kipling

Long, long ago in a land far away
I met some children playing on a river bank
One little boy wore a Japanese Army cap
Faded and old – I wondered who wore it first?

I tried to buy it from him - an MPC dollar?
No.
Five dollars?
No.
Ten dollars?
Laughter and another no.
Twenty good American MPC dollars?
No.

We continued our patrol up to Cambodia
And back again
I did not leave my bones in Viet-Nam
Nor even my cap  
                                            (I was a fool all the same)