Oct 29, 2010

Richard Blanchfield


An Ontological Grunt 

In time of war a U.S. MARINE:
in truth, a man of peace,
either way, a man of courage.

Veterans trust dogs,
children under twelve,
masturbation,
the chair facing the door
and any weapon in the dark.

Paratrooper, Marine, grunt,
infantryman or medic,
armor, air, or artillery,
guerrilla, fighter or
counterinsurgent, gunslinger,
each man reborn in combat.

So God made the world,
God made man,
and God made Nam!
Since Vietnam
three things
hold my Universe together:
gravity, centrifugal force
and suffering.

The Nam was a mind fuck,
soul crusher,
body killer.
In isolated rage
I see the 58, 620 names
embedded on the black granite Wall.

I hear echoes: Waste them,
get some, ice them….
my soul an unhung murderer.
I am a Warrior,
and not a gentle man.

I see Christ in jungle fatigues,
Humping like a grunt,
Leeches bleeding him raw.
He says: fuck it
and becomes the tiger.

Ah, war, war, war.
Casualties taken on both side.
We come from nonexistence.
We got to oblivion.
And War and U.S. of A. denies us.

I am a Warrior
for peace
AND not a gentle man.


Copyright by Richard Blanchfield

Biography
Richard “Doc” Blanchfield, a founding companion of the Fourth Order, has been known to stand in frigid arctic rivers for hours whispering unspeakable sweet talk to salmon as they make they way onto his hook. He is quoted frequently in Doing It Another Way: the Basic Text of the Fourth Order and a brief but important segment of his story is told on page 141. He is a three tour Vietnam veteran, Navy medic, who was wounded in the Battle of Khe Sanh in 1968. Dick was involved with Operation Babylift, the evacuation of Amer-Asian children at the fall of Saigon; and with the founding of the Flower of the Dragon, a non-profit Vietnam veterans service organization created and run by Vietnam veterans in the 1970's which became the model for Vietnam Veteran Centers across the nation.

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