Troopship |
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A long line of Brothers in arms
California
November 1965
Soldiers
come from everywhere
to stand
sit
and sleep in piles
like laundry bags
on the docks in Long Beach
Where ships arrived
MSTS
ships
that silently loaded them all
and quietly
slipped away
The journey started
with a last look
silence
and a thousand eyes
gazing at the land called home
None knew
then
that we would never
ever
return
the same
again
... November 1966
Class A's
and more silence
Ton Son Nhut
homeward flight
that... arrived at night
and into morning light
that saw silver caskets
in the silence of the Sun
silence living and dead
... and soldiers flying home
... coming in
through the OUT door
yet never
ever
really coming home
inside...
... growing old
restless at night
and in dreams
... of Troopship
Vietnam. |
By
Lou J. Klaiber
Copyright 2004
Listed November 10, 2009 |
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Lou served in Vietnam in 3 Corps Vietnam during 1965 - 1966 as a Sergeant E-5.
It is illegal to use this poem without the author's permission.
~~ Send your comments and/or use permission request to
Lou. ~~ |
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