literature

So Many Names

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MisfitableGrae's avatar
Published:
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Literature Text

Look.
What do you want me to say?
I have five minutes to come up with this
Amazing,
Beautiful,
Deep,
Meaningful poem that makes someone other than me cry-
Wait.

Let me start over.

Dear Soldier,
Apparently it's because of you that I get to vote at age 18.
They changed the Constitution for you.
I guess I should Thank you.

No, let me try again.

My bus driver went to Vietnam to fight.
On his moody days, he slams the breaks,
Opens the doors, and looks at us as if to say,
'Get out, kid. I've got best friends to mourn.'
He has this saying:
"You don't know shit about 'Nam till you've been to 'Nam."
I've never really understood what that meant.

Until now.

I guess I should say Thank you.

All my classmates are going around and saying that
The wall is so, so hot-
I'm going around asking if anyone has a pen
And what rhymes with angel.

Nothing rhymes with angel.

Vietnam should rhyme with angel.
Or maybe it should rhyme with 'love when you need it the most'
Or 'driving a bus and remembering an army truck'
Or "Mommy, which one's grandpa?"

I'm sorry, I don't have any more time to start over.

I guess I should say Thank you.
"Mommy, there are so many names!"
"Yes honey, I know."

-A conversation I overheard while visiting the Vietnam memorial.

I wish I could have actually said this.
© 2012 - 2024 MisfitableGrae
Comments4
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ChocoCoatedLemons's avatar
What that child says just about breaks my heart. I just visited Auschwitz, the death camp, and the amount of... Everything was just terrible. We don't even know all their names, and that's heart-breaking.