Only six hours of sleep?
You have got to be kidding.
I hung up the phone, sighing deep;
get moving, time for planes to take wing.
My boots could use a shine,
and I wanted to iron my uniform.
A shower would have made me feel fine,
but I grab my poncho, run out into the storm.
Have your aircraft ready to fly in an hour.
I wish the sun would break through a rain cloud.
Mighty engines roar to life, shake me with their power.
I stand tall and smile, wrinkled and proud.

_____________________________
Lou Marin is a writer, photographer, and historian for The American Legion, Department of Maine. Born and raised in western Maine, he spent more than 20 years in the United States Air Force. He is a published poet and short story writer whose work for The Havok Journal is largely poetry and reflective writing on military service, remembrance, and faith. He is also a stringer for Maine Trust for Local News, the author of Dimly Seen Through the Mists and My Lighthouse in Troubled Times, and a resident of Rumford, Maine. He can be reached at mbsphotog@yahoo.com or his Facebook Page.
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.
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