Poem of the Day: “Home of the Brave” by Terri Lynn Cummings

Songs of Eretz Poetry Review is pleased to present “Home of the Brave” by Terri Lynn Cummings.  A brief biography of Ms. Cummings may be found here: http://eretzsongs.blogspot.com/2015/11/poem-of-day-starving-artist-by-terri.html.

Belisarius Begging for Alms by Jacques-Louis David (1781)

Home of the Brave

Terri Lynn Cummings

Hope is a moving target

for the homeless man. He sits

on a wet, city sidewalk,

cocooned in cardboard, all hot

breath and rum. Images fog

his memory: the high spurs

of Hindu Kush, wild olives and

camel thorn, Paktia and Kabul River.

Beads of water hang from his cardboard

shelter. Like bats in a cave, they drop

and roll down his cheeks. He picks

at the Big Red One infantry patch

on the jacket he wore the day

Al-Qaeda strolled past his camouflaged

nest – blinks, runs a tongue over

crusty lips, tips a bottle of amber burn.

Poet’s Notes:  Early in 2014, I read an article in The Daily Oklahoman that discussed the concern of homeless veterans. I was immediately transported back in time to a trip my husband and I took to Washington, DC, where he and I observed homeless men and women on the sidewalks.  They sheltered under blankets and cardboard in the rain. Later, Internet research revealed alarming statistics. For instance, Veterans Inc. stated, “More than 300,000 veterans are living on the streets or in shelters in the U.S.”  The words, images, and statistics melded into this poem.

Editor’s Note:  As a military veteran and part-time Veterans Administration physician, I have seen all too often the heartbreaking fate of some of America's finest people.  Even sadder, in my part-time work as a prison physician, I have seen many veterans among the inmates.  Perhaps sadder still, as the accompanying illustration demonstrates, the problem appears to be as old as armies themselves.

Illustration Note:  In David's Belisarius Begging for Alms, we see the famous ancient Roman General, Belisarius, begging in the streets.  Recognizing the former commander, a young legionnaire looks on aghast.