John Samuel Tieman: The Break-in

for the wives of war veterans
there’s no particular way
to hold the past in one hand

but she knew
his medals were in the drawer
he never opened

she knew of the enemies
with the difficult names
she even knew of all the whores

but when the day came
the door kicked-in
the medicine cabinet rifled

the drawer dumped over the floor
he knelt to sort-out the mess
and the medals

which her husband explained he won
when he was just a kid
and brought death to the other kids

—

Copyright 2016 John Samuel Tieman

Vietnam Service Medal