Friday, March 23, 2018

The Vietnam Veteran

 

I was never interested in war
But the war had interest in me
When the war started I was drafted
They sent me to Nam to fight Communism
I believed in my country
I fought for my country with honor
I fought with my buddies side by side
I defended America
When I came home
I was not welcomed
Some were hostile towards us
Some called us baby killers
I was stunned
I was humiliated
I was angry
How could they turn their back
How could they betray us
We did nothing wrong
We followed the orders
I was an innocent boy
I was naïve and sincere
I was nineteen
When I went to Saigon
In Vietnam
I saw nothing friendly
Smoke and napalm
Booby traps and painful deaths
I became a man in Vietnam
The war transformed me
Moreover the war consumed me
My father was a veteran
Who fought in the WW2
He was respected by the community
I am a veteran too
I fought for my country
But I see no respect
Things are changing
I feel utterly sad
When I recall my dead buddies
They had gone
Vanished in to oblivion
My life crippled in to pieces
I see no future
I see no escape
I am a Vietnam Veteran
Without an identity
We are forgotten
Forgotten by the people

Dr Ruwan M Jayatunge 

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