Veteran’s Day
By James Breitweser, Army
Writing Type: Poem
By James Allen Breitweser
VA Medical Center-Honolulu, HI
Stick walking the beach,
the metrics of the trek.
Lost your skis, sir? The
passing jester quips.
Glistening lines overhead
entice elusive ocean prey,
while shrieking tots turn
away as they embrace
the saline smash.
Poling down the sand,
through the ivory froth,
where stealthy threads
of orb's blue-stained fire
streak the lonely sole.
Retrace lopsided track as
dog gaggles frolic after ball
and disc. Inquisitive brindle
menaces sinister alien limb,
retreats to master’s plea.
Weary now head home under
sprawling Kalama Ha’u to rest.
Wrapped in musty poncho liners
on trash bags full of regret, an
old soldier’s fateful sleep.
Notes: This poem was inspired by observing the happy, pampered lives of dogs on Kailua beach compared to the dismal lives of homeless veterans living on Honolulu's Fort Street Mall.
