by Nick Orton
War is anticipation
But the deployments are slowing down
And the wars are over
You’re a garrison soldier now
Now hurry up and wait
The old breed looks down on you
You missed the last twenty years
Those shadows are cast long
You’re one of the “have-nots.”
So hurry up and wait
Chasing badges and tabs is all you can do
Rifle range twice a year
An FTX here or there
But you’re red on MEDPROS now
So hurry up and wait
They say we may “deploy”
Hypothetical enemies on a rotational basis
The train up is starting
But we got a last-minute tasking, it’s a priority
Now hurry up and wait
So now you sit in a Louisiana swamp
You go back into the field when you get home
Reflect melancholy on what could have been
And snap out of it
Remember you used to dream about this as a kid
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Deadlined Poetry is a literary side project of two brothers getting a lot wrong and a little right along the way. Featuring poetry of life, pain, humor, and times in a “peacetime” Army and Marine Corps. Occasional poetry can be viewed at: @Deadlined_Poetry (Instagram). “Nick Orton” is the author of the two poems “Predestination” and “Laughter and Pain”
Nick is an active-duty member of the US Army and logistics officer. He has had a long-standing love of writing and has begun his own writer’s journey. He has authored the book “Tales From The Grid Square Volume I,” a collection of 240 stories from across the branches of the US Armed Forces as well as foreign militaries of strange events and instances. He can be reached through the Instagram account @Tales_From_The_Gridsquare or email: TalesFromTheGridSquare@gmail.com.
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