Urban Shadows of Vietnam

From the free-basing, 1960's fields

to the rice paddies of South Asia

tolerant minds into poppy heaven

stressed bodies seek euphoric highs

opium, barbiturates, alcohol to numb

the pain, recreation turns into addiction

a longing to escape the reality swells

into a perennial daze

At war's end, recycled to native soil,

purged of the physical rigors, but

with stained psyche, addicted mind

bereaved of families, who could not

understand, forsaken by their

countrymen, who were ready to

forget and move on

No rehab or therapy to calm

stricken nerves, no job training

programs a livelihood to engender

Bleary vestiges of shadowy Vietnam

morph into the trappings of urban decay;

green fatigues fading into second

hand rags, dog tags traded for

mission crosses, helmets for pawned

baseball caps, tidy barracks exchanged

for wooden crates scattered around

steam vents, Agent Orange clouds

devolving into urban smog-vapor,

trained, sniper bullets swapped for

random, criminal volleys