A Hundred and Fifty Dead [Korean War--l952]


There I sat, ninety-five degree weather

Outside; the bookstore café, was cool.

An Old Timer stood by me, explaining:

"There were two-hundred of us on the Island,

Near North Korea, back in '52-

We guarded 16,000-prisners?

"All of a sudden, all hell broke loose

Three-hundred North Koreans came

Over the bob-wired fence, in pursuit

"It all happened in a matter of seconds

The machineguns killed 150-of them

That's all I saw in the war of '52.

(One American wounded one concussion.)

"Now we had to fingerprint them all!"

The old timer said; exhaustedly;

As if he was to do it all over again?

But they were just old memories unearthed;

Resurrected for a moment, from the

Sands of that little horse-shoe island.

"But I guess I'll never forget," he said with

No regrets!... as he moved on looking

For his table, where he left his coffee.

#762 7/15/05

Notes: as a War Veteran I used to meet a lot of old timers from an assortment of wars, at one time, WWII seemed to be the one I meet the most from; before that, it used to be WWI (when I was a kid); very few from the Korean War (but now and then I meet one), and a few from Vietnam; where I was. Funny it seems, most of these groups are becoming more scarce, especially WWI, and the Korean War; or so it seems. Now we have three more wars to look at: Persian Gulf One, Afghanistan War and Persian Gulf Two (it seems, all in a matter of a decade); and I should mention, the Bosnian War, which my son was involved with; I guess I will not run out of War Veterans to talk to. It is also funny; we stop the longest war on record, the Vietnam War, only to replace it with the four-wars I mentioned. Oh well, that is life is it not.

Dennis Siluk,a poet and a War Veteran, of Vietnam; his recent book, "Spell of the Andes," has two sections, one on the Andes of Peru, the other on Rhymes of War, dealing with Vietnam. You can see his books at any of the Internet sites like http://www.bn.com or http://www.abe.com. He lives in Minnesota and Peru


MORE RESOURCES:

findingDulcinea

Bards at the Inaugural Gates
Wall Street Journal - 10 hours ago
Ms. Alexander comes from a political and academic family and is a champion of politically engaged poetry. Her father, Clifford L. Alexander Jr., ...
Elizabeth Alexander, President-elect Obama’s inaugural poet findingDulcinea
all 2 news articles


Poetry reading to honor Paul Cuffe
SouthCoastToday.com, MA - 9 hours ago
To mark the 250th anniversary of his birth, there will be a poetry reading in the "Ocean Voices" series, 7 pm Jan. 13, at New Bedford's Ocean Explorium. ...
Hoagland to give reading at explorium SouthCoastToday.com
all 2 news articles


FREE AND CHEAP / Memorial poetry reading for John Stone
Atlanta Journal Constitution,  USA - 13 hours ago
A free poetry reading at Callanwolde will celebrate the life and work of John Stone, an Atlanta physician well-known for achieving balance between science ...


From Mary's viewpoint
San Jose Mercury News,  USA - 39 minutes ago
She will also be a guest on Bill Minor's Poetry Show from 9-10 pm Sunday on KUSP. Bill Minor, a visual artist as well as poet, will also appear at Capitola ...


Tucson weekend: Wooden Ball, Craig Ferguson, poetry slam and reggae
Arizona Daily Star, AZ - 2 hours ago
Spoken-word competitors will step to the mic at 7 pm Saturday for Ocotillo Poetry Slam’s “The Coronation Slam.” Featuring JW Baz and hosted by reigning slam ...


Pelham Library Announces Political Poetry Prize Contest
Westchester.com, NY - 10 hours ago
Pelham, NY - The James J. Nicholson Political Poetry Prize enters its second year with a new judge and an expanded contest. There will be three competitions ...


Edmundson's January Term Class Offers the Gift of Poetry
University of Virginia, VA - 10 hours ago
January 9, 2009 — It takes only seven days to begin to learn to read poetry well, said University of Virginia English professor Mark Edmundson. ...


Students sought for poetry contest
Statesman Journal, OR - 4 hours ago
SALEM — Students 5 to 18 years old may enter Mission Mill Museum's fifth annual Victorian Valentine's Day Poetry Contest, part of the museum's celebration ...


New York Daily News

Gloomy Poetry: Governor does his best with a disheartening message
The Post-Standard - Syracuse.com, NY - Jan 8, 2009
David Paterson tried to stir them Wednesday with poetry and calls for shared sacrifice. At the start of his meticulously memorized, hour-long speech, ...
Governor Says New York Is in a Perilous Situation New York Times
If only Paterson's plan was as good as his fancy words New York Daily News
A call for greatness Albany Times Union
Albany Times Union
all 479 news articles


KTRU pick of the week: Poetry on Record: 98 Poets Read Their Work
The Rice Thresher, TX - 14 hours ago
Poetry on Record features a diverse collection of poetry on four discs chock full of readings by the poets themselves. The poetry ranges from incomplete ...

Poetry - Google News

Home | Articles Site Map