20 April 2004

not in Nam

the slow arm moves through dirt

I bulldoze a deeper trench
it’s

messy

not in Nam

the dog gnaws Buddy
I can’t move

until silence

not in Nam

my ghost
breathes jungle
enemy

napalm
girls

booby trapped

not in Nam

tunnels
hold the heaving earth the B52

not in Nam

shuffled cards for months so it all turned out

different

failed the medical the arteries my right arm branched a false reading for blood pressure they didn't follow it up I swam in the sea before Christmas

and sailed away in the stretch limo of marriage

without

seat belts