Vets
John Grey
​
In familiar woods,
we're casting on the waters,
ten of us, in loose formation
along the riverbank,
giving a drunken,
running commentary
on civilian life—
all scarred, some under
medical watch,
all laugh and swear,
persuade tragedy
to keep its distance
with beer in cans
and a spitting contest—
no more night marches,
when we can barely see
a bullet strike the next man up,
no stretcher duty
hauling bodies home—
too busy pretending to fish,
resting our poles against trees,
as trout glide by,
and kudzu climbs
down to greet us—
we celebrate the fact
that our war is over,
we commiserate
when nobody believes that.
Photo Courtesy of Creative Commons
Author bio: John Grey is an Australian poet, US resident, recently published in Shift, River And South and Flights. Latest books, “Bittersweet”, “Subject Matters” and “Between Two Fires” are available through Amazon. Work upcoming in Levitate, Writer’s Block and Trampoline.