Staff Sergeant
Since he was two
He wanted to prove his independence,
To show he could pour his own cereal,
Put on his own shoes,
Get the mail.
It hasn’t changed much
— Few things do —
All that’s changed is the scope:
Instead of buttoning his own shirt
He’s going ten thousand miles
To where the air is hot with bullets
And life is very cheap indeed.
We’d go along if we could
Just to make sure he’s eating right
And has clean socks,
But that’s not allowed
So we live in quiet hope and quiet fear
And busy ourselves in the bustle
Of each day’s little urgencies.
— Andy Hubbard, Brown County
