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VETERANS OF WAR, VETERANS OF PEACE |
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Mrs. Martinez
by Sandy Scull
Dear Mrs. Martinez, regret to inform you
that your son PFC . . . First name forgotten,
yet his safety entrusted to me.
He was a good Marine. Sorry about your loss.
Though just past eighteen, he looked
haggard. Last week even ghostlike blue,
like some part of him already knew.
Wanted to finish high school and marry
the Houston girl. Carried a decayed photo
showing her pimples and bouffant hair.
Died when a sandbagged roof fell
under nine inches of rain. An engineering stake
pinned across his throat, eyes bulging.
No blood. Dubbed non-hostile casualty.
Us Marines don't know bunker building,
better at digging foxholes and latrines.
He had been drinking hot cocoa. I found his canteen cup.
And some C-4 explosive we burned for a quick boil.
It was during Monsoon rain. The other sentry
grabbing sandbags off in vain.
Maybe he was daydreaming of home,
sitting in your kitchen. Numb sentiment.
Whatever she wanted, I was unable . . .
Top Sergeant said, Use the files, LT.
And keep it brief. Fall back on a form letter,
don't need more grief.
Reprinted from VETERANS OF WAR, VETERANS OF PEACE, © 2006. Reprinted with permission of Koa Books.
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VETERANS OF WAR, VETERANS OF PEACEFor nearly fifteen years under Maxine Hong Kingston's guidance, members of the Veterans Writing Group have told, written, and rewritten their stories. Many of the works have been collected in VETERANS OF WAR, VETERANS OF PEACE. Read excerpts from the book online.
THE AMERICAN NOVEL: Maxine Hong KingstonProfile of Maxine Hong Kingston from PBS' 2007 series THE AMERICAN NOVEL. The Web site contains an extensive interactive timeline of works from 1826 to today.
WATCH Maxine Hong Kingston from WORLD OF IDEAS: Watch Bill Moyers' 1990 interview with Maxine Hong Kingston from the WORLD OF IDEAS series. Kingston and Moyers discuss Kingston's works THE WOMAN WARRIOR, CHINA MEN and TRIPMASTER MONKEY as well as her work with veterans.
BECOMING AMERICAN
In 2003, on NOW with Bill Moyers, Bill Moyers spoke with poet Susan Sontag about her experiences with war.
Published May 25, 2007
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