Being Alive

I burst into song impelled
By raw and untainted joy
Exploding in my breast.
My feet feel light,
They contrive a dance.
I let them….
I am in a trance.
For the world, of peace bereft,
I care little at this moment.
Enough that I am
Alive, healthy, and capable
Of filtering happiness from naught.

Gulf War 1991

If it happened,
They said: It’ll be bad
For this sphere – this Earth,
And for Man.

If it happened,
They said: It’ll be sad.
For bombs would drop
Like leaves in fall.

If it happened,
They said: It’ll be scary –
Oil slicks, greasy rain,
And the poor birds.

It happened!
They were lost –
Tanks, planes…
And my Dad.

It happened –
The war – it was mad.
By God, you didn’t win,
Not at all.

When you lost a man –
Even one
You lost a citizen –
A precious one.

It is possible that the man
Whom a bullet felled
Cast in your favor
A vote you had sought.

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