Sentinels Of The Highway Poem by Thomas Thompson

May 3,2013

Blackberry Sentinels

This morning while driving in
The sun just breaking dawn
Low patches of ground fog nestled gently here and there
Miles and miles of blackberry on my right
Sentinels of the highway
When my mind suddenly unexpectedly morphed back in time
To the dense jungle around me to my left and to my right on another early morn
The sun rising a cool gentle mist in the air
As I slowly methodically walked along the dirt road
A steady whine in my ear from the mine sweeper I was working
When suddenly I felt shock waves from a different place in time
Rolling through my mind my body as the concussion
From the 175s and 8 inchers backhanded me
The ground quaking beneath where I walked
Transporting me to another cool early predawn morn
When 122 rockets and mortars began slamming in
On my last day in the field
As I felt myself flying landing on my back
The cordite thick in the air
Heard men screaming crying out MEDIC MEDIC I'M HIT
Their Hoarse screams ringing through the air
As I scrambled to my feet to go underground
My pants leg strangely colored as I watched blood drip seep into the ground
Lurching to my feet and began limping towards the aid station
Turning around as my wound was but a mere scratch
To the man I saw staring in disbelief at his intestines
Dangling from his hands as he silently slowly sank to the ground
The sudden jarring ALL CLEAR rang out loud
Repeated by those near as they relayed it to ensure all heard
The smoke from incoming outgoing dissipating slowly drifting away
The morning now strangely silent as I heard men
Quietly moving in the stillness to see who was OK
Helping those who were not if they could
Muffled clanks from canteens been emptied
As I stopped the flow from my leg
Not realizing the infection had already set in
While I packed my gear for the Huey to base camp
My last day in the field after two years in-country
Before boarding for stateside
My time in 'Nam done
The wound festering as I waited for the silver 707
Before I finally sought aid to fight the swelling
That kept me in-country extra weeks
As I turned 21 in TET 68
An attack on the berm at 0200 hours as I jerked awake
Struggled to my position and watched heard heavy weapons firing
The rat tat tat of small arms fire up and down the line
Red Green tracers racing through the thick night air
The area around me in front each side strangely quiet
The bus ride to the airport when I looked to my right and
Saw a woman three small children
200 meters away on the crest of a low hill
and began calculating how many rounds
Before I caught myself in horror at what I had just done
Their image forever burned in my mind
As the wheels of the Silver 707 whirred into their metal jacket
Restless sleep at 30,000 feet
Landing stateside where normal was strange
Difficult to cope as I fought to forget what was in my mind
For the next forty years

Silent Blackberry Sentinels on this cool sunny morn reminding me how I failed

Will it never end

Tommy