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Crossing the bridge
By Michael
His face was purple
and it haunts me
Cheeks hung below the jaw
Bulging eyes
Hands bound
My truck crosses the Tigris
And I wish I knew him
So that I could attach something,
Some feeling, something more
than what it was.
Had I known him I might know
How much he loved his children
The pet name he called his wife
What a beautiful tragedy.
Such is life
There is nothing that can't be taken away.
Baghdad taught me this.
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Copyright 2015 Michael
Published on Saturday, June 6, 2015.
Filed under:
"Poetry"
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Comments on "Crossing the bridge"
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On Friday, February 15, 2019, Jonas Robinson
(942)
wrote:
That sounds hard. Thank you for expressing this. A lot of people don't know the trauma that comes from being in the military.
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On Wednesday, June 17, 2015, TropicalSnowstorm
(1753) wrote:
Excellent piece, it is particularly effective in the way you humanize him in imagining the person's loved ones and back story. Well, well done! Ciao, T/S
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On Monday, June 8, 2015, Nimue44
(311) wrote:
A glimpse of death maybe? Oh dear. Maybe it's backwards. A glimpse of a life you'll never get to know. It's sad.
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On Monday, June 8, 2015, Michael
(15) wrote:
you could say that, this poem has both literal and figurative meanings to me. I came across a dead body when I was in Iraq. His hands were bound and his face was a sickly purple. He had been tortured by AQI insurgents. That's where the first stanza comes from. The rest is basically reflection on how I felt as I was trying to cope with the abject horror I was feeling at the time. Thanks for the comment.
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On Monday, June 8, 2015, Quietus
(84) wrote:
This is really chilling and insightful. Thanks for sharing.
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On Sunday, June 7, 2015, Phalanx
(748) wrote:
You remind me of my brother, in the best ways.
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