War is hell, and the Vietnam war was a different kind of hell for the men–some of them still boys–who went there. This is another poem about that war, inspired by Tim O’Brien‘s book If I Die in a Combat Zone. Thank you to all Vietnam veterans! We appreciate your service and sacrifice.
A Dog Begins to Bark
In the purest black of night
No stars, no moon, no city lights
Ambush is all but certain
Jogging from foxhole to foxhole
Grenades clumping at our belts
Then lying on our backs to wait
Hating the waiting, the wondering
Will we live or die
Not wanting to die in the dark
Moving again, making too much noise
Down a winding dirt road
A dog begins to bark
Voices speak urgently
From inside shadowy huts
As we move quickly past them
Moving in single file
Reaching to touch the soldier ahead
Fearing being lost and alone in this place
Zigzagging through graveyards
Dead enemies under piles of wet dirt
The man behind me emits a muffled sob
Trying to think of other things
The grouchy neighbor back home
Somebody shut that damn dog up
Copyright © 2013 C Mashburn
Picture courtesy of Google Images
Sharing this on dVerse Poets Pub’s Open Link Night #82 this afternoon. This is the second in my Vietnam series. The first one is called “Guard Duty” <— click on the title to read it.
Susan said
Felt it…Well done! Thoughts of home must have been their “lifeline”.
charlesmashburn said
Thank you, Susan. I can’t even imagine their thoughts.
Sherry Mashburn said
An emotional write of a horrific time . . . well done!
charlesmashburn said
Thanks, Hunny!
disastress said
fascinated by war. and the mind of those who went.
charlesmashburn said
I’m not so much fascinated by it, but I am impressed with how Tim O’Brien writes about it.
Thanks for the visit and comment!
ayala said
A strong write!
charlesmashburn said
Thank you, Ayala!
darkangelwrites said
I was right there with you.
charlesmashburn said
Thanks for the great comment!
brian miller said
dang man….what an underlying intensity to this…staying alive by staying together….following the line…trying to think of a safer place…and minding every detail to get back there…all too real from a soldiers perspective man…
charlesmashburn said
Thanks for the great comment, Brian!
zongrik said
some great images here, like zig-zagging through the grave yards.
epideictic rhetoric
charlesmashburn said
Thanks! I appreciate the visit and comment!
Sarah Johnston said
Amazing you captured this so well. I use to listen to stores from my Father about the fox holes and how it was inside of them. I can picture this so well in your piece. http://gatelesspassage.com/2013/02/02/reflections/
charlesmashburn said
Thank you very much, Sarah!
siggiofmaine said
WoW. Intense. Terrifying and well written. I didn’t want to continue reading but was unable to stop. WoW.
charlesmashburn said
Two wows! Thank you very much, Siggi!
rmp said
you paint quite a vivid picture. really well done!
charlesmashburn said
Thank you very much!
catnipoflife said
Charles, so emotional…I could feel it! I would like to feature this on Awakenings. I can’t reblog because it is blogspot. Okay if I post with you as the author and a link back to your site?
Here is the link to Awakenings. Don’t remember if you have visited that site. http://awakenings2012.blogspot.com/
charlesmashburn said
Absolutely! Thank you!
catnipoflife said
I was hoping you would say yes. I have already been working on it 🙂 BTW Since I linked to you and your blog I also linked to your book. In doing so, I did some perusing…I am ordering your book! I have been looking for something as daily guidance and now my search is over. I really don’t know why I had not investigated your book before now since I gather so much inspiration from your blog. The Lord works in mysterious ways! Now is the time!
If there is anything else you might like to add to the post, just send it to poetrybysharla@gmail.com and I will include it. My goal is to get it up Saturday.
charlesmashburn said
I’ll leave it to you, SHarla. I’ll take a look in a bit and see what you’ve done with it. Thanks for everything!
catnipoflife said
It is not live yet. BTW is this you? Charles Mashburn
Independent Writing and Editing Professional
College Station, Texas
Writing and Editing
I found this on LinkedIn and will link it to your name if that is the correct information.
charlesmashburn said
Yes’m, that’s me.