A Veterans Day Poetry Post

My father and father-in-law were army veterans of World War II. My uncle Benny, who tried to enlist in the navy, was rejected because he had been burned as a child. He joined the Coast Guard and trained--and later detrained--dogs that were sent to Europe. After the war, my uncle brought one of the dogs home--a sweet-eyed German shepherd named Sadie.

This post is dedicated to my father, father-in-law, and uncle; to the memory of my good friend Steve who was killed in Vietnam; and to all the veterans who have served their country so well.


From POSTWAR NIBLETS
by William Stafford
(September 24, 1947)

The little table by the big entrance
is for veterans.
If you can present a card
you qualify for Heaven.
Though temporarily of course
you are housed in Hell.


FANTASIA
by Eve Merriam

I dream
of
giving birth
to
a child
who will ask,
“Mother,
what was war?”



You may want to check out the website of Poets Against War. Here is the mission of Poets Against War as stated on the website: “Poets Against War continues the tradition of socially engaged poetry by creating venues for poetry as a voice against war, tyranny and oppression.”

Here are excerpts from and links to two poems I found at Poets Against War:

From IRAQ
by Natasha Maldonado

To tell you the truth,
when my brother was over there,I
hated talking about it.
Just simple facts:
He’s alive.
He is keeping a good attitude.
He’s coming home
any day now.


I tried to find a way not to think
of him being over there.
My nights were consumed with parties
and Keystone filled kegs.
I searched for a solution
at the bottom of every beer filled red cup
and found nothing.

You can read the rest of the poem here.


BABY
by Benjamin Arda Doty

Cradle civilization
In your arms, the way
Your mother did,
Hand under head,
So your neck
Wouldn’t break.


Put the child in the crib.
Rock it back and forth, gently,
Because you know
It will soon have nightmares
That will never go away.

You can read the rest of the poem here.