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Dave Cline Was The First To Shake My Hand And Say Welcome Home Brother (poem)
By Nathan Lewis
[Printer-Friendly Version]
same Kalashnikovs, newer M-16's
cities were the jungles
sandstorms instead of monsoons
same burning homes
Hellfires instead of Zippos
we convoyed, never humped
near beer instead of beer
no day passes, no Tu Do street
but something called an X-Box
wi-fi porn, not much grass
same lies pouring from TV
different newscasters
same blood pouring from twenty year olds
different countries
same war profiteers
different boogie man
DU instead of Agent Orange
pills instead of heroin
torture pictures in higher resolution
regionally appropriate racial slurs
same Johnny Cash
Kid Rock not Hendrix
no Bob Hope
and a much lamer Jesse James
same despised puppet regime
same buses to DC
same boonie hats, different colors
but when I got home from Iraq
wise uncles inspired
instead of condemned
—Nathan Lewis is an artist, activist and Iraq vet. He makes handmade paper from military uniforms with other veterans. They call it Combat Paper.
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