Vietnam Boy

"It wasn't that I knew him

I couldn't bear to know him

It wasn't that I thought him dangerous

I had to believe he was

It wasn't that I liked violence

I was used to blood

It wasn't that I wanted to fire

I didn't have a choice

It wasn't that I had courage

I was too afraid not to

It wasn't that I enjoyed war

I hated it as much as it hated me

It wasn't that I was used to rain

I continued to hump forward

It wasn't that I was used to mud

I  had to carry it"

~Grace Marshall

From my poem, "Vietnam Boy"