THANKSGIVING IN A FOXHOLE by Gary Jacobson © November 2006 namtour/thanksgivinginafoxhole.html Well, here it is, Thanksgiving in a foxhole... I’m trying to fathom What thankful presentments fill my soul. You know, Could be a whole hell of a lot worse. I could be pushin’ up posies ‘Stead a here spoutin’ verse. So I guess most of all I’m thankful I ain’t yet dead Laced with bullet holes oozing red Here in Vietnam Ten thousand miles from home Sent forth the rotting jungle to roam. War has reduced passionate patriotism To stone Still so abandoned... Still so alone Still bearing pains born in this land of egregious hurt To survive it this grunt just keeps on poundin’ dirt. So pardon me for wish’n for family, Hearth Home ‘Stead of walkin’ this park From dawn till dark. Just a might cumbersome... Just a might adventuresome... This blithesome war Chuck full o’ shock and awesome. I guess I’m truly thankful Heaps more thankful Than regretful Sent where C-ham and chokers Take an awful toll Leaving spirits kinda sick... Kind of droll. I’d give my left, uh, you know ... manhood... Nam to quicken To have and to hold A bucket o’ golden Kentucky Fried Chicken. U’um, I’d like some o’ that tasty bird Finger lick’n good You better know I would. Visions of big, fat drumsticks Float in my head Remembering feeling good And overfed… Heaping turkey breasts Back in the world feasts The parties, The girls, The cruising, The girls My car, The girls My family. Mother and apple pie, Uh, did I forget to mention ‘The girls,’ That’s why I’m here, Just an interdictive armed turkey Mired in Nam’s fickle state Of sheer perplexity Surviving eternal “Saddle up, Move ‘em outs” With a grunt’s dexterity. I’m most thankful for rare nights of relative calm I laugh and joke with brothers, For weary minds a peaceful balm That takes away the fears When there’s no bloodshed, No firefight... No Charlie comin’ through the wire Not tonight Just routine clamor Interdictive artillery’s hammer Flying Buicks overhead in the skies To that sweet music I snuggle into Nam’s warm ground ’beside my foxhole’ bed With no surprise Though repressive fears abound My slumbering senses acutely attuned To every little sound Tight so nothing escapes you, In or out-bound. You see… I’m fighting here for freedom’s bright ray And they can’t take that away… Though in this dirty little fray War’s full of inconvenient conundrums, I clearly see man’s hypocrisy Manipulating greed Vile corruptions Hatred’s evil seed For which my brothers For the good fight bleed. So I’m here for them… My brothers, My fellow man Laboring Together ‘as one’ Surviving In the heart of Vietnam. Deep in the heart of darkest jungle I’m thankful for good things That in this park abound Deep dank dark depths of hell The devil’s compound True brotherhood’s forged In this gory battleground Where men for duty bound Astonish and astound War’s complexities Bewilder and confound. In Vietnam… I lost the boy Zin Loi But found the man Mid contentious toil and strife Roiling, Boiling Hatreds brewing Carnal life. thankfully knowing I’m still living To pay sorrowful homage To dead and dying I survived war’s inhumanity To this knock down ornery world From war’s pack of lies Unfurled to rise. To kiss the skies Grateful I lived through what I’ve seen from wars bestial carnivore The carousel does careen Living with ghosts of brothers and enemies unseen. I’m grateful for my PTSD Yes… This world’s sweet pain Now comforts me Guiding me back to memories I try to forget But can’t forget… Don’t really want to forget War’s malignant melee Part of me My destiny Down in the valley of shadowed reverie Forever riding bestial iron horses War’s ogres dancing Betimes carry me Do-si-doing in and out From the maw of death Gratefully I take a peaceful breath... So chow down on your turkey, Grunt, With humble thanks giving, Be ever grateful for your living. For you learn so much about living When facing dying Grasp your family to your bosom dearly Know there are men out there, Who this night do not rest easy Who yet hear voices whispering In hot war winds breezy Daily contending Battling wrong for the right Men… women, This very Thanksgiving night Valiantly pursuing for the land they love Our eternal fight!
Posted on: Tue, 25 Nov 2014 21:46:04 +0000
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