Green Card Soldier   ~  Pantoum

By Carl Palmer



seasonal migrant worker

unwed mother in Arizona

temporary work visa expires

sent back across the border



unwed mother in Arizona

allows her teen-aged son

sent back across the border

the chance to have a better life



allows her teen-aged son

now after his first eighteen years

the chance to have a better life

by staying and joining the US Army



now after his first eighteen years

he fights to become an American

by staying and joining the US Army

by becoming an American fighting man



he fights to become an American

offers his life for this country

by becoming an American fighting man

becomes an American citizen, posthumously