Staring up through the canopy of leaves
The light filters through like the flicker in a theater
The movie of my life screened only for me to see
Flashes before my eyes as I lay here dying
Watching my mom and dad dance a drunken jig
As I sit naked, invisible to the pair
Falling from my bike over and over again
No one to show me how to stay upright
The cuts and bruises reminders of just how alone I am
Finally I ride, wind and freedom in my face
Exploring all there is within my limited reach
Now I sit in the back of the room
Trying to distance myself from the attention of everyone else
Wanting to belong but feeling forever on the fringe of good enough
I quietly let opportunity slide by the wayside
Moving on, not looking back
Connected to the road with more power than a young man needs
No self control and new addictions to feed
I watch as all that could have been slips away, taunting me as it fades
Chained to the pain I brought upon myself
I wont find the key until its too late
Nowhere to go but the yearn to leave
I stand in line waiting to learn of my fate
Decided by tests and how many pushups I can do
Infantry yells the man in the pristine uniform with perfect creases
And sweat on his brow
And just like that I learn of a place called Vietnam
Those I once despised are now the closest brothers I have ever known
We all know if the time comes, we’d die for each other
And the time will come. The time will come.
We move and breathe as one
Pieces of us die each day.
One by one we go away, leaving the others to somehow deal with the pain
Both of grief and of knowing the time will come…
Twenty-two months out of twenty-four have passed slower than you could ever imagine possible
I have lost count he number of times my time was passed over
This night is going to be bad they say
Outnumbered, outgunned and here we sit, waiting
From my hole I can hear the screams over the firefight
The bullets fly overhead in an endless stream of glowing death
I rise to return the favor on those who wish me dead
Gladly I give it back to them with everything I have
This night is going to be bad
The flash surely accompanied by a deafening roar seems silent to me
I’m no longer safe, as if I ever was, in my hole, I’m laying underneath the stars
Everything is quiet and people run in slow motion all around me
The night seems to take forever as I lay here bleeding
Occasionally the sound returns to my head but the pounding in my heart soon drowns it out again
Peace
Daylight finally comes and I see shadows above me, underneath the canopy of leaves
The sound of a far away chopper is actually right beside me
My brothers, who have been here all along, lift my broken body into the bird
As it leaves the ground behind, I can’t tell if I’m alive or dead
Does it even matter anymore?
C. Yarbrough
2014
