Why I Can't (i)

from poet David Connolly of the brothers and the sisters of the VVAW

Ratshit and the Weasel and I
are behind this dike, see,
and Victor Charlie,
he's giving us what for.

And Ratshit, he lifts his head,
just a little, but just enough
for the round
to go in one brown eye, 
and I swear to Christ,
out the other.

And he starts thrashing,
and bleeding, and screaming,
and trying to get
the top of his head
to stay on,
but we have to keep shooting.

Viet Nam Letters also has addressed One of My Best Friends, a related poem by David Connolly, first on July 6, 2022, second on September 3, 2022, and third on May 8, 2023. We have posted once on his poem Thoughts on a Monsoon Morning, on July 20, 2022.

Viet Nam letters respects the property of others under paragraph 107 of United States Code Title 17. If we asked for permission it wouldn’t be criticism. We explain our fair use at length in the letter of September 12, 2022.

The colophon of these Viet Nam letters, directly above, shows the janitor speaking with poet David A. Willson on a Veterans Day.