O:JA&L Poetry: All forms & styles
John Grey
A SOLDIER’S BELIEFS
He believed in the army but not the war.
And not even the army. At least not
anyone above the rank of sergeant.
He believed in the guy in the
next bunk whether above or on either
side. He believed in the first person
he had ever met from the “Show Me”
state of Missouri. And another, from even
farther south, whose passion was college football.
So he believed in St Louis and Alabama versus
Clemson. But not in Iraq. Not in some place
called Fallujah. And he believed in Mac
who had a girlfriend name June who he wrote
to once a week. He never met June but he
believed in her. And he believed in Rob’s parents,
that, despite everything, they’d stay together.
But he didn’t believe in politicians. Not even
the one who made a big show of visiting their
desert camp, and stuck a fork in a cooked turkey
on Thanksgiving. That politician, in fact,
was the one he believed in least of all.
But he believed in Tobey who was killed in
a roadside explosion. He even believed in
heaven long enough for Tobey to make it there.
About the writer:
John Grey is an Australian poet and a US resident recently published in New World Writing, New English Review, and Tenth Muse. His latest books, Between Two Fires, Covert, and Memory Outside The Head, are available through Amazon. John Grey has work forthcoming in Haight-Ashbury Literary Journal, Amazing Stories, and River and South.
Image: Suprematism by Olga Rozanova (1886-1918). Oil on canvas. 35.4 × 29.1 inches. 1916. Public domain.
OJAL Art Incorporated, publishing since 2017 as OPEN: Journal of Arts & Letters (O:JA&L) and its imprints Buttonhook Press, HOT BUTTON PRESS Contemporary Issues, and HIGH BUTTON PRESS Contemporary Art, supports writers and artists worldwide.
Explore O:JA&L’s Buttonhook Press offerings on Amazon.
Subscribe to the O:JA&L YouTube channel.
Become an O:JA&L Member through Patreon.
Support Pamelyn Casto’s text for writers: Flash Fiction: Alive in the Flicker
Support O:JA&L’s free presses.
