STEPPING ON STONES

THE SCHOOL IN THE STEPPING STONES

Block by block through the Imperial City.

Tagged by medics when they were brought in,

the words for where, "...Near Hue,"

during a firefight. We were south,

in Qui Nhon, the evac hospital

that took GIs hit during this particular

Year of the Monkey. January 31, 1968.

I'm skiing in Japan on R&R

a resort called Zao, near

where Basho walked on his way

North. Ignorant of Basho,

ignorant of Hue, but those mortars

hitting the airfield on my return

remain with me still. Basho

where I walk, black pine, rock,

running water, book.

Ink in every book. I stood

on the citadel eight years ago,

returning, trying to imagine

revolution with modern weapons.

Impossible task. One who stood

with us in the rain, fell,

broke her ankle.

Tourist evac'd from the Sacred City.

My job in Qui Nhon.

Trying to imagine.

Moral injury is language

we use today, listening now

to casualties from all sides.

Jim Bodeen

9 August 2017