What We Remember (Memorial Day)
Here are some messages for you, before the poem. Some people get poems twice because. Because. My internet mentor Ilana told me that you should keep the email that says mail chimp on the bottom. MAIL CHIMP. If you understand this you know more than I do. Also, ilana started a wonderful podcast https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-other-stories/id994789280. It's called The Other Stories, for writers and people who like writers and stories. Here it is. And now a poem.
What We Remember
Soldiers are always young. It's hard to be a soldier. You never understand how could you what war is what war means and why we fight. What we remember are specifics. Ideas are in another category.
When we went to Vietnam in February we met many people North and South telling stories of American soldiers and their kindness. Vietnamese liked American soldiers more than the French.
I thought I understood the Vietnam War more than I did.
Yesterday on our way to Price Chopper we stopped at a road truck yard sale hosted by Bill a Vietnam Veteran, on Memorial Day. We told Bill we'd been to Vietnam. The war was the most complicated time of his life. He loved it there, Bill said. We bought a doll from Bill a male doll with glasses and plaid pants. Maybe we'll call the doll Bill.