Vietnam
You are the one
that starts the war
I am the bullet
that starts the battle
I am the emptied shell casings
left out on the battlefield
You are the blood
That runs deep into the ground
I am the one
who has to live
with what I have done
I am the one
that carries the lifetime burden
and you are the one
with eternal sleep
by Contributing Poet Ronald J. Whittle Copyright © 2017
VWP 2017 First published in VietnamWarPoetry.com
Distant drums
A long list of hidden reasons
and lost chances to reveal them
of things that should have been said
that obviously were not
The trigger upon which my finger rests
and a war that has eaten a hole
through the flesh and bone
to my very soul
and what has been permanently etched in my mind
the fear, the elation, the bleeding and dying alone
Wrestling with these dark thoughts and memories
the Angels and I
and how it's all connected
life before and after the war
and how I should have cried
but could not
Sometimes the silence echos in the empty void
of the lingering past
and I put aside the present
as the distant drums of war pound out
the call of duty once again
for the gun and I
by Contributing Poet Ronald J. Whittle Copyright © 2017
VWP 2017 First published in VietnamWarPoetry.com
The shadow
The weight of your shadow
carries heavy on my back
I took that from you
I took the life from your shadow
No one else knows it is there
but I do
you have no use for it anymore
your body is dead and gone
and your shadow
carries heavy on my back
and weighs heavy on my mind
I see it in my dreams
and it's never far from me
no more than an arm's reach
just so I don't forget
and it forces me to remember
what I have done
and what the call to war can do
by Contributing Poet Ronald J. Whittle Copyright © 2017
VWP 2017 First published in VietnamWarPoetry.com
The roar of distant thunder
I used you for so many days
as a crutch
when things wouldn't go well
You helped me over some pretty rough times
when death surrounded me
and I hid in your warm embrace
I wouldn't blame you
for not understanding
Sometimes, I didn't either
You never knew it but I carried
your picture with me
in my breast pocket
until the heat and humidity
destroyed it
I cried that night
because I finally thought
it was over and I'd never
make it home
All I had was my empty pockets
and a memory
I wouldn't let fade away
as it was the only thing
I owned
that they couldn't take away from me
by Contributing Poet Ronald J. Whittle Copyright © 2017
VWP 2017 First published in VietnamWarPoetry.com
Answering for the sins of yesterday
The war is
branded on my skin
and etched in my mind
Fresh are the smells
of sweat and blood
My ears still ring
from daily gun fire
The burns on my hands
and arms
from ejected shell casings
are a constant reminder
of the lives I have taken
and I can never be
who I used to be
I can only be
what I have become
by Contributing Poet Ronald J. Whittle Copyright © 2017
VWP 2017 First published in VietnamWarPoetry.com
You are the one
that starts the war
I am the bullet
that starts the battle
I am the emptied shell casings
left out on the battlefield
You are the blood
That runs deep into the ground
I am the one
who has to live
with what I have done
I am the one
that carries the lifetime burden
and you are the one
with eternal sleep
by Contributing Poet Ronald J. Whittle Copyright © 2017
VWP 2017 First published in VietnamWarPoetry.com
Distant drums
A long list of hidden reasons
and lost chances to reveal them
of things that should have been said
that obviously were not
The trigger upon which my finger rests
and a war that has eaten a hole
through the flesh and bone
to my very soul
and what has been permanently etched in my mind
the fear, the elation, the bleeding and dying alone
Wrestling with these dark thoughts and memories
the Angels and I
and how it's all connected
life before and after the war
and how I should have cried
but could not
Sometimes the silence echos in the empty void
of the lingering past
and I put aside the present
as the distant drums of war pound out
the call of duty once again
for the gun and I
by Contributing Poet Ronald J. Whittle Copyright © 2017
VWP 2017 First published in VietnamWarPoetry.com
The shadow
The weight of your shadow
carries heavy on my back
I took that from you
I took the life from your shadow
No one else knows it is there
but I do
you have no use for it anymore
your body is dead and gone
and your shadow
carries heavy on my back
and weighs heavy on my mind
I see it in my dreams
and it's never far from me
no more than an arm's reach
just so I don't forget
and it forces me to remember
what I have done
and what the call to war can do
by Contributing Poet Ronald J. Whittle Copyright © 2017
VWP 2017 First published in VietnamWarPoetry.com
The roar of distant thunder
I used you for so many days
as a crutch
when things wouldn't go well
You helped me over some pretty rough times
when death surrounded me
and I hid in your warm embrace
I wouldn't blame you
for not understanding
Sometimes, I didn't either
You never knew it but I carried
your picture with me
in my breast pocket
until the heat and humidity
destroyed it
I cried that night
because I finally thought
it was over and I'd never
make it home
All I had was my empty pockets
and a memory
I wouldn't let fade away
as it was the only thing
I owned
that they couldn't take away from me
by Contributing Poet Ronald J. Whittle Copyright © 2017
VWP 2017 First published in VietnamWarPoetry.com
Answering for the sins of yesterday
The war is
branded on my skin
and etched in my mind
Fresh are the smells
of sweat and blood
My ears still ring
from daily gun fire
The burns on my hands
and arms
from ejected shell casings
are a constant reminder
of the lives I have taken
and I can never be
who I used to be
I can only be
what I have become
by Contributing Poet Ronald J. Whittle Copyright © 2017
VWP 2017 First published in VietnamWarPoetry.com
Bio: Ronald J. Whittle was born in Worcester MA in 1947 & educated in his hometown of Shrewsbury MA.
Further education came by way of the US Navy, Viet Nam, Apollo 13 recovery team & 45 years of family living.
Ron divides his time between his home in Worcester and the shores of Cape Cod.
His influences include Tom Waits, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Edgar Allan Poe, Ogden Nash, Ezra Pound & Rod McKuen.
Ron is a member in good standing in the Worcester County Poetry Association,
a member of the Works in Progress/ Outlaw Stage at the Worcester Artist Group,
Founding member of the Worcester Art Walk, and a member of the Warrior Writers of Boston.
Those that have enjoyed Ron's previous work can be on the look out for future posting on Facebook,
other E poetry sites and readings throughout New England.
Further education came by way of the US Navy, Viet Nam, Apollo 13 recovery team & 45 years of family living.
Ron divides his time between his home in Worcester and the shores of Cape Cod.
His influences include Tom Waits, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Edgar Allan Poe, Ogden Nash, Ezra Pound & Rod McKuen.
Ron is a member in good standing in the Worcester County Poetry Association,
a member of the Works in Progress/ Outlaw Stage at the Worcester Artist Group,
Founding member of the Worcester Art Walk, and a member of the Warrior Writers of Boston.
Those that have enjoyed Ron's previous work can be on the look out for future posting on Facebook,
other E poetry sites and readings throughout New England.
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Westerly, Rhode Island, USA