Parcels of Tin and Cloth

by Nick Orton

Parcels of tin and cloth

Trinkets of earned and given pride 

Pinned close to the heart

Traditional rites handed down through time

Colors and patterns known only to the tribe

Devices delicately placed as a message

Colorful ribbons lined up in a row

Dangling medallions of silver and bronze

Rights of passage displayed by badges

Stripes, chevrons, leaves, and bars

An Eagle and the occasional stars

Earned or not, define the members of the tribe

Many wear the mark of parcels of tin and cloth

Torn flesh and bloodied skin mark the moment

Of rites brought to passage

There are those who display them with pride

Earned or not, it wasn’t up to them to decide

Some are robbed of their parcels of tin and cloth

Denied for virtue alone or predisposed

Others wear them in apathetic tradition

For the sake of conforming necessity

And a few simply because they survived

Held in shame in the place of better men

Forever they are all beholden

To these parcels of tin and cloth

__________________

Nick is an active-duty member of the US Army officer exploring the nooks and crannies of the post-GWOT era military. He is joined by his brother, an active duty Marine, writing poetry as a form of catharsis in the face of the life, pain, humor, and times in a “peacetime” Army and Marine Corps. Occasional poetry can be viewed at: @Deadlined_Poetry (Instagram).

As the Voice of the Veteran Community, The Havok Journal seeks to publish a variety of perspectives on a number of sensitive subjects. Unless specifically noted otherwise, nothing we publish is an official point of view of The Havok Journal or any part of the U.S. government.