#marines
This life is lonely.
This life is hard.
Everything and nothing.
Everyone and no one.
Living and dying.
Love and hate.
Pain and peace.
They want all of you,
and none of you.
No Balance.
It never ends.
It never ends.
It never ends.
Jul 13, 2022
Jul 13, 2022 at 9:58 PM UTC
I dont care who you are,
please speak ill
of the men and women
that walked through hell
that carried on as their family fell
that gave everything
to include their lives
so you might sleep in peace at night.
Go ahead,
speak ill,
so we may serve you,
so we may silence you.
Jun 20, 2021
Jun 20, 2021 at 1:32 AM UTC
far off
the jets are being gassed up
preping for launch
far off
the infantry train
in anticipation, for the battle sure to come
far off
the navy men scan the seas
waiting for a blip on the radar
far off
a marine is receiving shock training
and practicing what it is to be dead
far off
icbms with nuclear payloads are capped
their ignition sources itching for flight
far off
but not so much
Feb 6, 2021
Feb 6, 2021 at 3:47 PM UTC
I love that love of marines
They kiss, and then they go
They won't take their promises
But either will come home
In every port, there's a sad lady
But they kissed, and now they're gone
Some night , as everyother
They'll kiss the waves to forget shore
Apr 27, 2019
Apr 27, 2019 at 3:16 AM UTC
Tomorrow,
To Borrow Time,
To sign the lines that resign our lives away,
This is our time.
Salute,
And Stand Attention.
For We Are,
The Next In Line.
~Robert van Lingen
Oct 17, 2018
Oct 17, 2018 at 12:51 PM UTC
"Oh yeah? Did you **** anybody?"
Is what people ask when they see
smeared across my past
like a bloodstains on a white sheet
US Marine
Iraq
twice
And they cant understand the answer
because they cant understand the question
“I really think you got that guy man!
We should radio back and get you
a confirmed ****
“Im pretty sure I shot that guy in the back.”
"Holy **** Miller and Johnson are dead."
And I never knew what to say to my friends
Because I was busy doing mental math
Emotional equations
In their eyes
How many more times they could be blown up
Before they were unreliable
Divide the fear with rage
Because you had a job to do
Someone had to get in the truck
And push the fragile blindfolded bodies back
With his boot so he could sit down
below the armor
away from the snipers
And one of them was shaking
it was cold
And his cowering skinny teenage body shook
It was like mine had been not long ago
For the whole convoy
three hours
And I carry these memories in the same tissues as the ones
that carry my sleeping infant son
nuzzled against my chest
under a blanket
warm
safe
Some of us let them spill out of our veins
Onto bathroom floors
In ditches and alleys
car wrecks
shaking
Any good devildog prefers the screams of the dying
to the screams of the living.
And the math keeps coming out negative
When I equate the cost of our
cell phones candy wrappers
vibrators golf courses
with
https://www.amnestyusa.org/pdfs/sscistudy1.pdf
And I subtract the dark areas of my mind
From what can be filled with love
And am still at war.
Sep 10, 2017
Sep 10, 2017 at 10:42 AM UTC
Johnny wants to be a soldier. Johnny had a *******
Johnny now is Jenny and The Donald says it's wrong.
Jenny loves her country and she wants to serve and fight.
Trump says she's not worthy and no longer has the right.
Susie was born as a girl but knew she was a guy.
Susie now is Sammy and he only wants to fly.
Went to join the Air Force - Was rejected on the spot.
Knew that he was qualified, but Trump says that he's not.
Trump was born an ignoramus - still is one today.
Never served the military - always got his way.
If you're not the same as him you are the enemy.
You're not worthy if you're poor or a minority.
Started with transgendered, better watch out if you're gay.
Blacks, Hispanics, women, he would love to throw away.
When nobody's left the military will be grim.
Trump will have nobody left who wants to fight for him.
If you're an American and if you long to serve,
better not be different or they'll label you a perv.
If you say you're boy or girl and ready for your chance,
all that matters now is the equipment in your pants!
Jul 29, 2017
Jul 29, 2017 at 7:40 PM UTC
It's short
it's sweet
It's the perfect treat
For our last goodbye
I'm not going to lie
I really hope you don't die
Growing up we had our fair share of fights
With flying slippers
...and that broken swiffer
But I think we turned out all right
You're not the strongest nor the smartest
Though you're much stronger than me.
And I know you'll fight the hardest
When you're fighting for our right to be free
It is said there is a friend unlike any other
One that sticks closer than a brother
Perhaps some day this will be true
But I think it's almost impossible to do
Cause I have to say,
to my brother born in May,
I've never had a closer friend than you.
So here's farewell, not goodbye
There is only do, never try
Stay strong, don't die
And of course, semper fi
5/20/16
May 20, 2016
May 20, 2016 at 9:43 AM UTC
She walks down this path so many Mothers have walked before her,
Crisp uniforms line the path..a heavy heart..Tears in her lap.
An American Flag snaps to attention as if to say we know your pain Mother, but we don’t.
Through this all, she carries on the pride and resolve despite an unthinkable loss.
The twenty-one gun salute resonates through every city in America
Reminding everyone to take a moment to honor this fallen son.
On the 6 O’clock news Taps plays on every television.
And we shake our head in disbelief.
An unbroken line of Patriots that passed before him,
Line the stairway to heaven to welcome their brother home.
And a banner hangs in Moms living room window..Displaying one Gold, two blue stars
“Lord please bring my boys home safely”, she prays
I hope you’ll think of some of the reasons why our brave sons & daughters make the ultimate sacrifice…..Here are just a few……..
The American Flag
Our military men and women
Freedom
Patriotism
America the Beautiful
Land of the Free
Home of the Brave
4th of July
Memorial Day
The Bald Eagle
Democracy
Free Enterprise
God Bless America!
Apr 26, 2016
Apr 26, 2016 at 4:10 PM UTC
I Will Be The Exception
I will smile at every veteran I see
I will place my hand across my heart
and sing, "Oh say, can you see..."
I Will Be The Exception
I will laugh and talk and joke
and play, and smile. But not only on
Veterans Day. I will do it every day.
I Will Be The Exception
I will shake their hands, I will help in
anyway I can. Freedom can be celebrated
every day, not every now and then
From This Day...And This Day On
I Will Be The Exception
Feb 6, 2016
Feb 6, 2016 at 8:16 PM UTC
I got a letter from the government
A week back, Tuesday morning
It came in a grey envelope
It was stamped with a red warning
The envelope was tattered
And the words were inked in red
To be opened by recipient
That was all it said
I checked the name typed on there
It was mine, so I could see
John Augustus Reed
Beale Street, Unit 43
I opened it and sat right down
I had been drafted so it said
I had to report on Thursday
I heard a ringing in my head
I didn't understand it all
To me it made no sense
This plain grey mottled envelope
Sent from my government
I followed the instructions
And showed up promptly at the place
Something was asunder
I could tell from the man's face
I showed him my draft letter
Explained, I didn't understand
He looked at it and laughed a bit
This wasn't what I'd planned
He said son, is this you
Are you John Augustus Reed
I told him I'm John Junior
He said that's all the news I need
This letter is a glitch, boy
It wasn't meant for you
It was sent out to your father
Back in nineteen seventy two
Somehow it was mangled
Got lost along the way
Until somebody found it
And you got it on that day
I'm glad you chose to come here
Showed up exactly when it said
But, I think you now can go on home
I think it's best, instead
It's amazing how one letter
And you can take this to the bank
Can fill a man with honor
For that I must give thanks.
Sep 1, 2015
Sep 1, 2015 at 11:38 AM UTC
A month ago I sat in class
in a New England School for boys
Now, I'm in a bomber group
Adjusting to the noise
I made plans for Harvard
A doctor, I would be
Then my life would turn
In a way I didn't see
The war was on in Europe
We saw in the press
But, 18 days before Christmas
we were pulled into the mess
Future plans were put aside
Our country we'd support
We'd forget all of our future thoughts
We'd join, though not for sport
We signed up down in Boston
Young men flyers, soldiers all
Preparing for a battle
Many would not live till fall
We thought not of our future
Our present, all we had
Many dead by Christmas next
The thought is truly sad
You do not what you want to
But, what needs to be done
You go from boy to man so fast
You've barely walked...now run
Think back on those who made it
Remember who did not
Young men they are forever
They deserve a longer thought
The air is pure and holy
It is scattered with young souls
Boys, now men who went to war
And put aside their goals
Oct 21, 2014
Oct 21, 2014 at 11:59 AM UTC
war is mellow
is the deepest of lies
nothing takes you away
from the feelings inside
men go to war
it’s what they have to do
a simple slip of paper
with horrors brought too
a senseless battle
bringing death into the night
just a couple of young guys
with a newfound love of life
we fight to bring peace
and ease troubled minds
a place so unfamiliar
that we’ve come to reside
the truth gets lost
so tangled into the lies
who the really enemy is
is something the government hides
sometimes it’s hard
to miss home so much
tranquilizers to take you away
from death’s single touch
a war inside the jungle
with nowhere to hide
quickly becomes a war
inside our own minds
May 16, 2014
May 16, 2014 at 8:49 AM UTC
It's been 3 months since you've had a cigarette and you're doing just fine. The Marines whipped you into shape and you've lost ten pounds since i last saw you. Your muscles have been trained to be lethal and i think i would let you **** me if you had the chance. But you've kicked the habit and now your body no longer craves the daily dose of nicotine it so desired for a year. I never wanted to be your cigarette, you only used me when you were bored and stomped on me to finish me off when your lips couldn't. I only wanted to be your drugs, let you die for me. But it seems you've kicked that habit too. Now I'm not sure where i belong because your lungs seem so much stronger without me.
May 9, 2014
May 9, 2014 at 9:35 PM UTC