Dance to the Dustoff Waltz 

                        Fear of flying no more
                        wounded
                        medevac swooping in
                        rotor blades whooping it up
                        in the key of A major
                        trembling violins and staccato horns,
                        rising.
                        Tracers red and green arcing
                        brass casings spent
                        sunlight reflecting
                        too bright, too bold, too much
                        no pain.
                        Blood sanguine and sticky
                        shimmering on hands, legs, abdomen
                        no pain.

                        On a litter, four men running
                        scrambling for their lives and mine
                        someone stumbles, goes down, I roll off.
                        It’s OK, I think, I don’t mind.
                        Just get me to the bird before she’s hit
                        get me to the supermarket, coffee on sale
                        get me to Reno, prostitution still legal
                        get me anywhere,
                        just get me the fuck outta here,
                        and they do
                        sliding me in next to our platoon sergeant,
                        swathed head to thigh in battle dressings
                        our very own mummy, moaning softly
                        I look to the crew chief, my eyes beseeching
                        lift off, lift off, lift off.
                        The bird does, and we don’t get hit.
                        We clear the tree line, joy surging
                        every cell, fiber, synapse, as
                        eagles vie with Valkyries for our souls,
                        and Wagner provides the overture. 


                        by Founding Poet  Paul Hellweg   Copyright © 2014 
                        ​VWP 2014     First published in  Proud to Be  2014 

                        Bio:  Paul Hellweg  is the  Founder of this  VietnamWarPoetry.com  website. 
                        For more info, please see his bio on the  About Us  page and on his  Bio / War Poetry  page. 
                        PaulHellweg.com                        ​PaulHellweg.com/poetry