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| Weary Looks in our Eyes ... |
Saving Tears
We brothers gathered in silence with weary looks in our eyes.
So many years had passed, still our reflections remained painful.
Comfort of mind, there's no such thing, until self is accepted.
We looked like anyone else, I guess, from the outside looking in.
We talked rice paddies, jungles, and bombs that fell on Hill 875.
Been a long time, we'd been saving tears, for this mournful cry.
Logic was set aside to chase the unknown without knowledge.
Imagination had held us captive, as we've pondered the whys.
Years stole our memories, but dared not to touch our scars.
Nightmares kidnapped sleep, laughing at the anguish it caused.
Post traumatic stress disorder we've all been deeply affected.
Been a long time, we'd been saving tears, for this mournful cry.
My health is slipping quickly someone said, mine too the reply.
They sprayed us with chemicals, sent us home to rot and die.
Drunken nobodies, without jobs some were labeled and scorned.
A black granite wall built to jog the silence of a past which slept.
It dances to the rhythm of motion, in the darkest of midnights.
Been a long time, we'd been saving tears, for this mournful cry.
From mother earth we were all slung, into uncertainties of life.
Lost at the controls of society, we search for what lies beyond.
Hoping those young lives, that gave their all, we'll see again.
Our intentions to go, and return whole, but none of us did.
Yet, youth allowed us to solidify an everlasting brotherhood.
Been a long time, we'd been saving tears, for this mournful cry.
CSM Doyle Watters
Vietnam Veteran
US Army Retired
US Army Retired
Other Articles by Doyle Watters
“I am only one, but I am one. I can't do everything, but I can do something. The something I ought to do, I can do, and by the grace of God, I will.” ~Everett Hale
Feel free to comment on this post. You are also invited to write about anything you feel comfortable sharing. Memoirs From Nam is YOUR blog. You are writing America's history, sharing the truth about the Vietnam veteran, and what it was like in Our War.
absolutely beautiful Doyle
ReplyDeleteRight on the money with everything Doyle. I was on a different hill but all were the same in the end, just names, numbers, hills, valleys. Thanks for all you did also, my friend & comrade. Michael Lansford Hill 937, Ashau Valley, :Hamburger Hill , 69.
DeleteSo eloquently put! Thanks for speaking for us all!
ReplyDeleteThe "Camaraderie" of the time period spent over in 'Nam is something that one treasures for an eternity. NEVER has this same bonding occurred back home in the civilian world. As they always say, "It Was The Best Of Times, It was The Worst Of Times"
ReplyDeleteGod Bless and take care of all my "brothers"
Well spoken Doyle! Thank You
ReplyDeleteRobert Quade, Company A-1-20 11th Infantry Brigade Americal Division