H&i* In My Mind Poem by Thomas Thompson

September 10,2017 - June 17,2018

H&I* in My Mind (*Harassment & Interdiction: Artillery firing on known spots where VC would be passing through)

Random flashes pulsate through my mind
Triggered by that day in May
When rusted corroded walls
Hastily erected as I flew away so long ago

Crumbled and fell to the ground
As I screamed a scream that had no sound
Dust-covered memories rampaging within

Without mercy
Without pity
Without end

Instantly transporting me now to then
To a Place a Time
A War
That should never have been

Smoke cordite blood shit
Wafts through my nostrils
Triggering dioramas impossible to forget

A nameless young lady
Dual tracks rendered hip to shoulder
The red stain slowly blossoming upon her white Au Dai
Artfully composed
As she lay dying upon a filthy road

A mind sweeper heavy in my hand
Waking a snail's pace upon the apex of a lonely dusty road
Completely focused on what lay beneath

The dense green on either side
Impassive Watching Waiting
Anticipating
Haunting to this day

A dying man's eyes staring deep in my soul
His life force inexorably fading away
Till his body releases
And his eyes go blank

The first of many yet to fall
Before my time in a war
Not of my making done

Death slyly grimacing as He casually walked the land
His reaper's scythe not caring a wit who lived or died
Or arrived home
Whole or not

Chance now the bane-dice of my existence
Thrown suddenly without warning
Frantically scrambling for an illusion of cover

Surviving one day at a time
Waiting for that day to fly away
Tho' the baggage I carry
Far too heavy a load

Pulsating images flash in my mind
Random H&I impossible to forget
Never ending pain silently tearing at the very core of who I am
Ceaseless thunder lightening without end

Seeking solace from whom I can
Illusionary at best
A momentary respite as I flail in the dark
No way to live life

Seeking peace all along

To welcome you home from troubled times
To a Place a Time where you belong
Their Love muting screams images that should never have been

Tommy