L'chayim

Carl came gentle to basic
and none of the D.I.'s snapping at our heels
nor the direct orders yelled up our nostrils --

EVERY RECRUIT AND I MEAN EVERY
RECRUIT INCLUDING YOU WISE GUY
WILL ON MY COMMAND MARCH TO THE
NEXT BAYONET PRACTICE STATION
WITH WEAPON AT PORT ARMS AND
EVERY TIME YOUR PEACE-LOVING LEFT
FOOT HITS MY TRAINING GROUND
YOU WILL WITH EVERYBODY ELSE
IN THIS PLATOON YELL 'KILL' DO
YOU UNDERSTAND ME ! --

by sergeants short on more than inseams
subdued his gentleness;

nor did that night on base camp perimeter guard,
Martin and Sedrowski in the M79 emplacement,
Lee out left in the rifle pit, Carl and Duffy
on starlight scope, field phone and M60 in the
main bunker when 86th Sappers under new moon
cloud cover pulled infiltration and assault
to satchel the ammo bunkers and blew the humid
black to tracers crazing the whole perimeter,
with friendly 81s and 105s dropping shit right
in the wire under chute flares to catch Charles
coming and going, and Lee taking an AK slug in
the chest and yelping till Carl and Duffy shitcan
common sense and belly out under the lead to drag
him back into bunker four-two, work his flak
jacket and jungle blouse off and rip enough
T shirt away to start a gauze wrap around the
ribs, letting the rest of the world play war
in silhouettes spattering rounds dizzy under
the dangle of white phosphorus hissing down
to cigar-glow, their rifles chinned against
the back wall beyond the aid kit, out of reach,
when a shadow rises in the east door, grenade
shoulder high for the lob, and Carl, Duffy,
Lee and the universe freeze, gauze rolls at the
ready over Lee's staining chest -- four shadows
welded in the breath none could take -- till
the grenade hand melts back into the short
bulk and then the doorway flickers once more
with the pink spray of tracers from four-three's
machinegunner working his field of fire and
Carl, still gentle,
names his every breath thereafter
a gift.

................R. S. Carlson

Perimeter Guard Bunker near Highway 1, Quang Tri Combat Base, Quang Tri Province, Viet Nam, 1971.