THE PARK

Beware! There be monsters dwelling in my park
Faces of war
Hiding in shadows dawn to dark
Regaled by those who dare in their park embark
Waiting to feast on my blood
Waiting to suck out my brotherhood.

The monsters in my park will eat you alive
Biding in the green to your life deprive
For on death they thrive
Big, bold hairy ones
Bloody horrible scary ones.

The monsters in this land of egregious hurt
Seek grunts like me just pounding dirt
They do not at all wish me well
Not in this verdant pell mell...
Where it’d make their day to send me straight to hell.

Oh fearsome games with young minds monster’s play
On this poor boy’s soul demon’s still to this day prey
To bring me down to their level of depravity
Robbing from me life’s sanctity
With glee turning sacred values topsy turvy.

The demons make killers of me, just like him
Sharpening hunting skills while spirits they dim
Calling “Eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow you die.”
When they’ve robbed me of my inner self grim,
Who will for this lonely shell cry?

For humping this park indelibly changes you
Unalterably rearranges you
Permeated by a new set of senses imbue
Leaving no longer the man you used to be
Who came-in country to set a beleaguered people free.

Nam’s shadows still cloud your mind
Still with survival’s anguish grind
With sobering guilt the Nam does withering bind
Constant anxieties still have you jerking and jumping
Constantly looking for monsters who come killing.