we forget

A Poem by G

walk in my shoes for a day
      the post Vietnam era vet

i am not a Iraq war vet
    because they didn’t send me to Iraq
so I am not entitled to certain vet benefits
a little known fact

did it count I was in harm’s way
    in a terrorist country
with no gun because the state department said it was safe

the Vietnam era vet
agent orange
drugs
shooting children trying to kill them
coming home to a hero’s welcome
     i think not
don’t forget the vet
but we do

increase the soldiers in the war
     cut down the after care treatments
where were you when 9/11 happened
   I lost friend in both places

PTSD
    now we have a name
to whatever is wrong
how do I explain to my best friend’s wife
why he can’t get a decent wage

PTSD
    was the diagnosis
I don’t have a job
no home
   I have to pay to go to the VA
and they say
    I have an addiction problem
PTSD
Hell,
I want to kill something here