Welcome Home
This is a free verse poem47 total reviews
Comment from Douglas Goff
This is very nicely done. This line hit me hard:
seared scars in my mind
A lot of war veterans say that it feels like their mind was scared.
Thank you for you tribute and wonderful words.
reply by the author on 25-Oct-2022
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This is very nicely done. This line hit me hard:
seared scars in my mind
A lot of war veterans say that it feels like their mind was scared.
Thank you for you tribute and wonderful words.
Comment Written 25-Oct-2022
reply by the author on 25-Oct-2022
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Hi Douglas, thank you for
taking the time to read and
review my poem. Yes, this was a tough line to write, as
I've also heard this saying
too. There is a large veterans
shelter a few towns over from my home. I've donated
some artwork to them. It's
run by a great Christian
organization. We can never
thank our veterans and our
fallen enough. Many blessings to you.
Comment from Brandon Clark
Excellent dedication poem to the unfortunate souls who have suffered fighting the hubris-laden wars started by others and finished with those you describe above in your poem. Of course, the Vietnam vets had it the worst. Excellent job and thank you for sharing this important work of yours with us!!!
reply by the author on 25-Oct-2022
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Excellent dedication poem to the unfortunate souls who have suffered fighting the hubris-laden wars started by others and finished with those you describe above in your poem. Of course, the Vietnam vets had it the worst. Excellent job and thank you for sharing this important work of yours with us!!!
Comment Written 24-Oct-2022
reply by the author on 25-Oct-2022
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Thank you so much, Brandon. Many of our
Vietnam vets had health
problems because of the
chemical defoliant Agent
Orange. The U.S. government
dragged its feet on taking
care of them.This is so heartbreaking. Thank you
for visiting my page and for
the 5 stars. This country
can never pay back our
war veterans for their bravery
and sacrifice. Many blessings to you.
Comment from Gypsy Blue Rose
Your free verse poem is very moving. War is always awful. I remember this one.
The Vietnam was too long and we lost so many young Americans and when they came back we treat them badly. So many veterans never got the respect and help they needed...need still.
Well done!
reply by the author on 25-Oct-2022
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Your free verse poem is very moving. War is always awful. I remember this one.
The Vietnam was too long and we lost so many young Americans and when they came back we treat them badly. So many veterans never got the respect and help they needed...need still.
Well done!
Comment Written 24-Oct-2022
reply by the author on 25-Oct-2022
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Thank you so much,
Gypsy Blue Rose. The U.S.
government let our war
veterans down by not taking
care of them properly. This
has happened to our
Vietnam vets and our Middle
East war vets. The burn pits
legislation was finally passed
It should of been passed
years ago. Thank you for
taking the time to read and
review my poem. Many
blessings to you.
Comment from karenina
Such powerful emotions run through me as I read this. This was the war of my generation. These are my friends and family who went and fought, some dying there, some dying in increments here--from wounds physical or psychological, and from the atrophy of appreciation for our veterans.
Your free verse soars from the first line to the last--through the hellfire of war, to the sweet song of wrens and sparrows as you end your verse.
I especially was taken by:
"Surviving veteran's hair
becomes snow-white,
war wounds become more
arthritic,
memories of their
war buddies still sweetly
preserved in sepia images,
veteran's reunions as their
bones stiffen,
but still salute their
brothers and sisters in arms,
their hats with the name of
the war they fought in with
their brethren of the
Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines."
I see this often. The elderly Vietnam Vets who nonetheless stand a bit taller and embrace their comrades... Sharing something we can only begin to imagine.
A wonderful contribution to this Veteran's Day contest.
Karenina
reply by the author on 25-Oct-2022
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Such powerful emotions run through me as I read this. This was the war of my generation. These are my friends and family who went and fought, some dying there, some dying in increments here--from wounds physical or psychological, and from the atrophy of appreciation for our veterans.
Your free verse soars from the first line to the last--through the hellfire of war, to the sweet song of wrens and sparrows as you end your verse.
I especially was taken by:
"Surviving veteran's hair
becomes snow-white,
war wounds become more
arthritic,
memories of their
war buddies still sweetly
preserved in sepia images,
veteran's reunions as their
bones stiffen,
but still salute their
brothers and sisters in arms,
their hats with the name of
the war they fought in with
their brethren of the
Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines."
I see this often. The elderly Vietnam Vets who nonetheless stand a bit taller and embrace their comrades... Sharing something we can only begin to imagine.
A wonderful contribution to this Veteran's Day contest.
Karenina
Comment Written 24-Oct-2022
reply by the author on 25-Oct-2022
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Hello karenina, Thank you
for taking the time to read
and review my poem. I'm
so glad to hear from other
poets who were young in
the 60's and remember a
lot of it. Our Vietnam vets
and Middle East war vets
suffered so much with
post-war injuries and sickness. The U.S.
government dragged its feet
when it was time to properly
care for them. It is heart-rending and disgusting.
I'm so sorry you lost precious
family members and friends
to this war. Thank you for
the 5 stars. Many blessings
to you.
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Hello Regina. Yes~ although my grandkids look at me as if I were recounting the fall of the Roman Empire, it is something to view not as some abstract historical lesson, but as something we lived through...
Comment from barbara.wilkey
Thank you for sharing this writing prompt tribute to veterans. Yes, war is horrible on everybody. Many veterans and active-duty soldiers are feeling their government has betrayed them, right now. They really need out support.
reply by the author on 25-Oct-2022
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Thank you for sharing this writing prompt tribute to veterans. Yes, war is horrible on everybody. Many veterans and active-duty soldiers are feeling their government has betrayed them, right now. They really need out support.
Comment Written 24-Oct-2022
reply by the author on 25-Oct-2022
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Hello Barbara, yes, all of this
neglect of our war veterans
is a scar on the face of the
U.S. The Middle East wars
legislation that recognizes
the burn pit injuries of our
vets was finally passed. Our
Vietnam vets Agent Orange
struggles and lack of care
for treatment for it went on
for a long time. This is a
tragedy. Thank you for your
words of support for them.
Many blessings to you.
Comment from Laurie Holding
This is just beautifully presented. I love your format, so clipped with a long, almost rifle-like thinness to its shape. So well done! There are a couple of places that I'd change your punctuation, like in that last stanza "we found his grave," where I'd put a period instead of your comma, and I'd hyphenate humanity-destroying, but those are picky little Monday morning kind of things. You have a beauty, here. Thank you for posting.
reply by the author on 25-Oct-2022
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This is just beautifully presented. I love your format, so clipped with a long, almost rifle-like thinness to its shape. So well done! There are a couple of places that I'd change your punctuation, like in that last stanza "we found his grave," where I'd put a period instead of your comma, and I'd hyphenate humanity-destroying, but those are picky little Monday morning kind of things. You have a beauty, here. Thank you for posting.
Comment Written 24-Oct-2022
reply by the author on 25-Oct-2022
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Thank you, Laurie. This poem
has reached many of my
Fanstory poet peers. It's so
important to get the message out there about
what our Vietnam war vets
and Middle East war vets
have gone through. I have a
poem posted on the burn pits
tragedy. We can never repay
our veterans for their sacrifices, because their
suffering went on for so
long. I appreciate you letting
me know about the grammar
errors. Many blessings to
you. ~
Comment from Charlotte Morse
Hi Regina,
I've only just managed to find the time to get around to looking at your work after your wonderful review on my acrostic poem on Oradour-sur-Glane, I apologize for my tardiness.
Your poem 'Welcome Home' is so beautiful and so heart-wrenching, I had tears rise in my eyes while reading it.
Our feelings are evidently closely linked when it comes to war stories/poems/songs, and there are 2 songs that really move me that, if you don't know them already (though you probably do!), I wanted to share them with you. The versions I know are by the Fureys, but are sung by many I believe.
1. And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda
2. The Green Fields of France (Joan Baez also sang a beautiful version)
Good luck in the contest.
Charlotte
reply by the author on 25-Oct-2022
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Hi Regina,
I've only just managed to find the time to get around to looking at your work after your wonderful review on my acrostic poem on Oradour-sur-Glane, I apologize for my tardiness.
Your poem 'Welcome Home' is so beautiful and so heart-wrenching, I had tears rise in my eyes while reading it.
Our feelings are evidently closely linked when it comes to war stories/poems/songs, and there are 2 songs that really move me that, if you don't know them already (though you probably do!), I wanted to share them with you. The versions I know are by the Fureys, but are sung by many I believe.
1. And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda
2. The Green Fields of France (Joan Baez also sang a beautiful version)
Good luck in the contest.
Charlotte
Comment Written 24-Oct-2022
reply by the author on 25-Oct-2022
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Thank you so much, Charlotte. I have heard the
two songs you've mentioned.
They're beauteous songs
I like the song,"Blowing In
The Wind," which addresses
the loss of so many youth
in wars. Many blessings to
you. ~
Comment from Debi Pick Marquette
Hello Regina, my sweet friend. I never have to think about what brought you and I together as friends, because I always remember it is those convictions that are especially dear to us both. Besides abortion and a few others, yes war. The only difference between the world wars that my grandpa and my dad fought in, they truly made a difference to our freedom. Vietnam was a joke. And not the funny kind. When your own President has big time stock in the helicopter companies that were sending the helicopters over for the war, and it was at our expense.I lost a boyfriend to that one and other dear friends. All so our president could get richer. That is when I started selling the POW bracelets in my school to try to help funding to help find MIAs and POWs. It felt good to give a couple thousand to the organization when I was done.This poem was so beautifully written and had so much meaning. You certainly have my vote my dear friend!
reply by the author on 24-Oct-2022
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Hello Regina, my sweet friend. I never have to think about what brought you and I together as friends, because I always remember it is those convictions that are especially dear to us both. Besides abortion and a few others, yes war. The only difference between the world wars that my grandpa and my dad fought in, they truly made a difference to our freedom. Vietnam was a joke. And not the funny kind. When your own President has big time stock in the helicopter companies that were sending the helicopters over for the war, and it was at our expense.I lost a boyfriend to that one and other dear friends. All so our president could get richer. That is when I started selling the POW bracelets in my school to try to help funding to help find MIAs and POWs. It felt good to give a couple thousand to the organization when I was done.This poem was so beautifully written and had so much meaning. You certainly have my vote my dear friend!
Comment Written 24-Oct-2022
reply by the author on 24-Oct-2022
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Thank you so much,
dear Debi. You have such a
benevolent and caring soul.
War is such a tragic destroyer of young lives
I am so sorry for your loss.
I remember the POW and
MIA bracelets, you did such
a noble deed in fundraising
at your school. Many
blessings to you my good
friend.
Comment from Carol Hillebrenner
This is an exquisite poem with searing images of the veterans who were never welcomed home, were even spit upon and called names. The incident with the mother is telling that the parents are old enough to have been in WWII and now can't find their only son's graves. My freshman in college class were the first men called up and our parents would be a hundred or more if they still lived.
reply by the author on 24-Oct-2022
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This is an exquisite poem with searing images of the veterans who were never welcomed home, were even spit upon and called names. The incident with the mother is telling that the parents are old enough to have been in WWII and now can't find their only son's graves. My freshman in college class were the first men called up and our parents would be a hundred or more if they still lived.
Comment Written 23-Oct-2022
reply by the author on 24-Oct-2022
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Thank you so much, Carol.
The tragedy of war is that it
takes so many young lives
and grievously injures the
survivors in body and soul.
It's been so touching to hear
from other poets who also
were a youth in the 60's, and
their experiences especially
about the Vietnam War.
Many blessings to you.
Comment from MissMerri
This is such a wonderful poem, so heart touching and a clear reminder of the sacrifice of so many brave men and women who willingly serve. Thank you for writing this. I love how you included a specific person, a sad story of a mother who had lost a son, and how you interacted with her. So beautiful and touching. Best wishes in the contest.
One suggestion: "represents (should be 'represent') their precious
blood,"
reply by the author on 24-Oct-2022
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This is such a wonderful poem, so heart touching and a clear reminder of the sacrifice of so many brave men and women who willingly serve. Thank you for writing this. I love how you included a specific person, a sad story of a mother who had lost a son, and how you interacted with her. So beautiful and touching. Best wishes in the contest.
One suggestion: "represents (should be 'represent') their precious
blood,"
Comment Written 23-Oct-2022
reply by the author on 24-Oct-2022
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Thank you so much,
MissMerri. War is such a
wanton destroyer of young
lives. I really appreciate you
taking the time to read and
review my poem. Many
blessings to you.