Download PDF of this full issue: v47n1.pdf (28.5 MB)

Boots (poem)

By David Sandgrund

Left, right, left, right, left, right
Boots, boots, boots, boots, boots
Long flight, across the pond, snow to heat
Exchange; change, black for green
Orientation, information, orders
Say farewell to your boots
Questions, Answer
Dry season dust no boots
Rainy season mud no boots
Mornings come
Boots on
Every evening
Wipe em down
Wash em off
11 months 26 days
Now Tet, boots on 24/7
Short timer 20 days left
Homeward bound across the pond noise to quiet
Clean em up
Pack to go
Stow em away
Years pass
Closets to clean
Rediscovered
Memories flash by

—David Sandgrund