So, I was wrong

an apology to our soldiers
 

I was so wrong

But I was so scared

I was hit so hard

I guess I didn’t care

And I believed

that better men knew best

how things should run

and I succumbed to what came next

flags and songs

and guns for sons

right and wrong was lost

among the hunger to get

something done

in those moments I felt strong

we all knew that we belonged

as we gathered up our arms

and marched toward the front

the crowd threw up

prayers and psalms

so that we could move along

continue with our lives

as though nothing

and no one had been bombed

I was so wrong

But I was so scared

I didn’t dare to stand up

As war plans were prepared

And I believed

I believed that

better days would come.

But I was wrong.

I was so wrong.

© 2008 henry toromoreno

an open letter to my sons

for Father’s Day, in memory of Tim Russert

In case the world should end

before I can tell you everything

I hope when that time comes

You’re old enough to know –

          I was just a man,

          Like both of you, but less.

Much less, and more at once, too.

The times we had together

So much you don’t recall,

Cannot be expected to remember.

I carried that around for us,

That history we have

that I dig up in writing this,

Though it is less. But more.

Much more, of course.

For in the cadence of each sentence

And the twisting of each letter

The separating spaces I told you both

Was the breath of each word

You understand our grand connection

And why the stories that define us

Go way beyond “the end”.

 

© 2008 henry toromoreno

i am a man

© 2008 henry toromoreno