Seeing and Doing: A Story Poem

Statue, Three Servicemen, Vietnam Veterans Memorial (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

After Roger*’s time in the service,

his life went down the tubes.

Too much booze

and not enough work

and post traumatic stress

did a number on him.

A request out of the blue

gave him the courage

and the necessity to live again.

His buddy from the war

had asked if his friend could look after his wife

and children in case he should

not make it home safe.

With the buddy gone now, the buddy’s wife

was dying of cancer.

She was living in the hospital

but her two children had nowhere to go.

The place where Roger was house sitting for the winter

would not let the children stay there unless he was married.

Marcy* said,

“Sure, I’ll marry you,

if you can stand an ugly shell of a person

who can’t give you anything in return.”

Roger by this time had given up the monkey on his back,

gotten a job as an early morning  newspaper delivery person and  as a waiter.

All his money went toward feeding and clothing his new stepkids.

I saw him at this restaurant once ~

his eyes were penetrating and watchful

as if to wake up out of a dream

and watch the patrons

and try to remember how it felt

to live like they do.

Can you see him?

Marcy walks around in a daze

when she has a day here and there

with enough energy to walk.

Repeat motions.  Repeat thoughts.

Repeat fears.  Enough repeats already.

Can you see her?

Ryan* and Shelby*

feel alone in a scary world,

walking to the shelter after school

until their new daddy can pick them up after work.

They’re missing their precious Scruffy,

the dog they had asked for so many times

and now who had to be given away

so he wouldn’t starve.

Can you see them?

Will you help them?

* fictitious name