Death's Marionette
The explosion tossed him like a rag doll
He danced in the air
Like death’s marionette
Slow motion gravity
Settled him to the ground
His face a shredded bloody mask
Eyeless sockets gazing nowhere
Gray white flecks of brain and bone
Circled his head like a halo
These are images that would haunt anyone for life. No wonder there is such a thing as PTSD... But even that is a superficial diagnosis... I think.
ReplyDeleteAnd I do think you should collect all of your Vietnam writings and put them into a book, just as you wrote them... unorganized... helter skelter. It adds to the chaos of the reality you must have experienced. There are so many publications about Vietnam, but not much that is like this. And let me tell you this... there is nothing "technical manual" about what you've written here. Nothing at all.
Nevine
Thanks Nevine...
ReplyDeleteI think that's a good idea, but I have no idea how to go about it!
I wish I would have posted the Vietnam stuff later, when I had more readers...
Thanks again for the nice words!
My husband was an army draftee, 20, when he was sent to Vietnam. I met him a few months before, and had a chance to know him as a "normal" teen for only a short time. He was different when he came home, of course, but we had 42 years together, the last 27 better than the first 15. He didn't talk much about most of that year he was gone, only a few funny stories, like eating fish heads and rice with Montagnards and being vilely sick afterwards - I know, doesn't sound funny, does it? I wish he'd had a chance to read your blog, but he died March 26, 2010, and I just found your link on Lucy's blog this week. He might not have opted to read it, but it might have been good for him if he had.
ReplyDeleteSusan, first off I'm sorry for your lost. I very seldom talk about my time in Vietnam either. I can write about it, and talk about it with other VN vets, but that's about it. I get that story about about the fish heads, and also think it's funny. Kind of like "gallows humor" I think. I actually have about 30'ish posts relating to VN, but I reverted them back to draft form. I need to retool them for a possible book. Not sure if I'll actually every get it done...
ReplyDelete