Confidential

like a smile in a waiting room

Confidential
01.26.10

I asked him if he
could talk about where
he was going.

Same place as everyone else:

Afghanistan.

that’s when the change occurred.

instead of a customer,
I was talking to him
like an innocent man
sentenced to death,

careful not to let
my face and inflection
reveal my helpless sense of
fear.

I was wearing a mask
from that moment on,

the same one that he
wore since he walked
through the door and
even before
since the phone-call
came and went
and until the day he
deploys and
each
day
after

until the bullets
break it.

Reviews

[Coyote Poetry]

Strong words and a lot of story not being told. Young and with great burden create a wall of fear and safety. Complete poem was powerful. Ending was perfect.
Coyote

[Hollywood]

Very interesting & well written. You have evoked emotion without trying. :]

[Angelheaded Hipster]

This is an interesting piece. I would like to say that not everyone dies in Afghanistan, to offer a glimmer of hope, but if I were to hear something like that, I would feel the same.
In fact, a close friend of mine is going over there soon, and I don't want him to go. But when the miliatary says go....you kinda have to.
Thank you for the honesty in the write....but remember....the bullets may miss...