Tommy stood in glass and wood.
Hanging on the wall.
Cool and calm, a picture of aplomb.
Standing straight and tall.
A man obsessed with cleaned and pressed.
Waiting for the call.
Over the years he wiped the tears.
And held each frail and shaking hand.
Calmed the fears of new volunteers.
Made sure no unit ever went unmanned.
Midnight or noon, rotating or platoon.
He always took shift command.
That's what they say anyway.
Cause that was the Tommy I never knew.
Tommy was broken, not more than a token.
To all but just a few.
His feet on the desk his head laid back to rest.
In his wrinkled uniform of faded blue
Commendations, awards and his Marine Corps sword.
Framed his kind and gentle face.
The papers read that he had bled
In some distant time and place.
I looked in disbelief at our chief.
And looked again in the case.
Locked in the glass was a man long passed.
A roaring snorting young buck.
How can this be? I just can't see.
How can a man have such rotten luck?
Then a voice I didn't know whispered low.
"Tommy's not allowed on the truck."
His sad brown eyes just couldn't disguise.
The pain he had bore.
He lifted his head,looked at me and said,
"I don't shine my boots anymore."
He said undaunted,"I could if I wanted."
"I learned how in the corps."
"I have to admit I'm all out of spit.
Broken, worn and sore.
Years of trauma and all of the drama.
Are showing like never before.
This is an art that can break your heart.
And I don't shine my boots anymore.
The broken necks and car wrecks.
The drunks, the skells, and the gore.
The battered wives and tortured lives.
Writhing on the floor.
You ain't seen shit, just wait a bit.
An you'll see why I don't shine my boots anymore.
The little girls with ribbons and curls.
Not the Junkie or the whore.
See, their mother's never knew the corpses cold and blue.
That dive/rescue dragged onto the shore.
Weathered and hard, battered and scarred.
And I don't shine my boots anymore.
I can see myself, like a picture on a shelf.
The decline I can't ignore.
A constant reminder of years that could have been kinder.
When I got that can of polish from out of the drawer.
And put a mirror shine on those boots of mine.
And I don't shine my fucking boots anymore."
Author notes
Written December 3rd, 2005
What did you think
Comments
1 - 10 of 10
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such a sad and great write.
tons of emotion and great use of
repitition with the shining of the boots.
love the use of words and the rhyme
worked well throughout.
keep it up
emogirl -
another amazing write you did a great job with the emotion and i love the ending and this imagry was awesome keep up the great work
vampiry juliannna -
this is an amazing write,I love the ending it cpatuered me.
I can see myself, like a picture on a shelf.
The decline I can't ignore.
A constant reminder of years that could have been kinder.
When I got that can of polish from out of the drawer.
And put a mirror shine on those boots of mine.
And I don't shine my fucking boots anymore."
excellent write
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super
wow a wonederul poem, I love it..... -
agrees with belle if she likes it so do i shes a poetic genius
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this is a great but sad write i love it keep it up!!!
LoVe Ya
~*BeCcA*~
you are a great writer
keep up the great and awesumly awesum work!!! -
O.O wow, this is so amazing. You made it rhyme beautifully throughout the whole entire thing, and it was interesting enough to make me read it the whole way through. Gosh... its so sad and its true. The world is becoming such a horrible place to live...
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Well laid out and very graphic.
I could feel each and every
emotion, the scene was set perfectly.
It is what poetry is about, take the
reader to your mind, the moment you
you writing about. Really well done,
I enjoyed this very much...Keara -
wow you wrote really well on this one... bravo and i love the line 'and put a mirror shine on those boots of mine'...
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great job at writing a ton of emotion in one poem i love your choice of words and the way you wrote it. keep writin and i will keep readin
_-_-_HER_-_-_
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