See You in the Dark: Poems

Winter Soldier

64 WINTER SOLDIER 2008 “They take all the humanness out of you” said an ex-marine in the film of the Vietnam veterans gathered in 1971 to describe the sadistic acts they witnessed and committed against the Vietnamese known to them as gooks during their service in what they were trained to think was their country’s best interests such as searing flesh raping and disemboweling all vividly and in choked voices recounted go see and hear for yourself and note when you do the inventive male hair patterns sideburns bangs whiskers beards goatees ponytails and other ingenious designs using what you can grow yourself flourishing on the heads of these tormented men one of whom said it was terrible to watch himself becoming an animal among animals. If you are old enough the hair will instantly recall what it was like then the immense earnestness the courage to speak out publicly to be unsophisticated to show the self defenseless all that is now considered foolish and uncool and we’d best put behind us but must we? Yes there was awkwardness especially between black and white witness the vociferous black man in dark glasses demanding why no one mentioned racism when they talked about gooks it was pure racism 65 he said so why did no one say so the white soldiers stood silent and nodded shamed it was like that a lot back then everyone clumsy fumbling trying to get near one another do something useful with the bitterness and guilt not knowing how or what everyone deferring maybe too humbly to the loudest voices but they did speak truth and were heard and something was achieved some effort some germinating sense of goodwill not like now. And while you sit watching in the dark ask yourself why if this film came out in 1972 you are not seeing it until today and why if these ex-soldiers found the moral wherewithal to tell in public their cruel and ignorant deeds in order to repent and exorcise them and as one said so that others would not commit similar cruelties and why too if this heartfelt testimony was believe it or not read into the Congressional Record is it happening all over again and will we decades from now be watching another long delayed film of men shattered by training in which they chanted Kill Kill Pray for War as a barracks lullaby. Probably no there will be no movie of this war because such sincerity never mind hair is mocked these days and cruelty and torture need not be hidden but are accepted as deeds we must do for our country our country what is this country anyway that we allow ourselves to become animals for? ...