drunk-driving
Rent from DeepDyve- drunk-driving
i
there was the time youdrove home drunkbut didn’t consider it as suchfor you were going overseasin a matter of weeks.
ii
come to the drop-in centre,the man at church said.
it’d be good for the boysto see a man in uniform.
iii
the street kids ranfrom the uniformuntil you changed
into something else,
and walked to therinktogether, [End Page 162] jeans crinklingin the cold.
iv
the three of youchose to wearwomen’s skatesbecause you could.
the picks at the front madethe three of youfall all overthe ice.
the halogenlights madesure everyonesaw.
Chris and Juniorthoughtit was funny as hell.
v
the bruiseson your kneesdidn’t matterbecause youwere leaving for Afghanistanin a matter ofdays [End Page 163] and the boys were used to bruises.
vi
you woke early.the snow was deep.
your mother made strongtea for the drive to war.
the boysdidn’t want you to go.
the night before
they held ontoyour arms—
you felt likea father.
you liked themand skatingtoo.
not the ideaof being a fatherquite yet.
you got on the plane.
in your memoryit was still dark. [End Page 164]
in your memoryyou didn’tfall asleep
at all.
vii
in your memorythe boysweren’tused tobeing left
behind. [End Page 165]
Benjamin Hertwig is a former soldier and current PhD student whose writing has appeared in the New York Times, NPR, Sugar House Review, Pleiades, and the Literary Review of Canada, among others. His debut book of poems, Slow War, is forthcoming from McGill-Queen’s. He was recently the recipient of a National Magazine Award.
