Farewell

Noon, family members gather far and wide

Aunts, uncles, cousins, parents, brothers, and me

The air filled with the smell of meat cooking on a fire

And the tables filled with a sea of drinks

Talking, laughing, eating, drinking and playing

All of us a family.

Dad's drinking, moms nagging, cousins teasing

And me soaking it all in like a sponge 

Night, the sky laced with stars as the party lives on

Me, looking at the hundreds if not thousands of stars 

I sit up, looking sadly at the dark road 

Then out of the blue, she appears next to me

Dressed in black, black as the night sky

But her smile, bright and lovely as the full moon above us

I take her hand, and run to a plain of grass

We lay on the field as fireworks go off

Flowers of neon blue, red, green, and yellow explode overhead

As I hold her hand and give one last kiss.

Morning, as I pack up my room my eyes begins to drop tears

Leaving my family and her to go back to America

To go back to the country where I live, rather staying in the country where I belong 

As I load the luggage into the van she came back.

Only with something to give: a necklace,

And one simple task: to remember her.

As we depart I felt empty, as if a part of me was stuck in Cambodia

And to this day, that missing part beckons to reunite with me.

"Me"

Me, a soldier

Fresh out of boot-camp

Vowed to destroy America's enemies

Foreign and domestic

But the country I'm going to, is going to be hectic

Bullets and bodies are bound to the blood soaked ground as bullets whiz by overhead.

Vietnam, where anything that crawls, slithers, or moves could kill you

The jungle is alive with the sound of gunfire and the smell of gunpowder 

Vietnam, where your best friend is your rifle

Vietnam, where your greatest fear is not knowing.

When I start firing my rifle I feel sorry 

Not for the guys we're shooting at, but the guys around me

Young teenagers, eighteen and nineteen years old 

Thirsty for blood, while I'm waiting for this war to be over.

Over the course of two years I stayed alive 

Following the rules of war:

Quiet as the forest 

Fast as the wind 

Immovable as the mountains l

And to be daring as fire.

Nam had the same schedule for us

Wake up, patrol, get shot at, sleep

Wake up, patrol, get shot at, sleep 

Wake up, patrol, get shot at, sleep

One by one, our platoon gets smaller and smaller.

23 men turned into 19 the next day, 

Then 16 tomorrow, then 13 the next day.

I was wondering when my time was coming,

Until one day I heard a click

Click, as I put my foot down

Click, as I look down

Click, as I look around

My heart starts to beat like a drum

Thinking to myself this is not war is about 

"This is not how I'm going out" 

Boom, as I jumped away

Me, now in a hospital

Me, now a cripple

Me, now missing a leg

Me, now confined to a wheelchair

Me, now a disappointment to my family 

Me, now a disgrace 

Then I remember: the gun by my bedside,

I limp to change into my uniform, 

Put one in the chamber, 

Hand on my .45, my head sweating now

I pull my hand up to a salute

I pull the trigger 

I pull my brains out

My name

"Name"

When I was born into this world

When I first saw the light

When my dad first held me

He said "Everybody will know your name."

When I first walked I paved road-ways fulled of gold

When I first spoke, I put Beethoven's symphonies to shame

When I first wrote I laced the paper with platinum prints

When I had straight A's for six years, 

My parents said "Keep this up you'll be in fame,

Then everybody will know your name

When I shout, my voice crumbles mountains

When I bleed, my blood turns into an oil fountain

My skin so thick, it similar to titanium

Ask the last guy, I busted in his cranium 

My tear-drops form rivers

But the sound of my lamentation makes your back slither

When I play video games I win and only win

And when I have a B on my report card, it's like a sin

Fast forward years later and here I am

Being the man my father always wanted

And in a couple of years they'll know my name.

My name on bill-boards, T.V shows, and in lights

My whole life was a fight, and me fighting with all my might

I only wish to make myself be known, and my dad proud

That'll be a sight.

"Silver" poem

Silver

Silver, is a color with no emotions. Instead have discipline and honor,

Silver is the sound of "yes sir" and "no ma'am" 

Silver is the smell of sweating after winning

Silver is the feeling of working autonomously, non-stop, day after day.

Silver makes me feel free and normal

Silver is the taste of blood after a hard fight

Silver brings back the memories of being alone, but humble

Silver brings the idea of perfection and accuracy

Silver is home, and the country where I was born in

Silver is the color of second place, but never first

Silver is the color of being forgotten, instead of being known.