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Best Poems From
DAN HANOSH
(11/10/1957)
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13.
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My Promise
Many years have past since
I’d been a gung-ho youth of fourteen
Vietnam had been a child-like fantasy of
glory and honor cradling me proudly
almost daily I sat transfixed to
nightly news reports and the body counts
of the fallen soldiers never did
I think of war as hell
now I can’t forget the images of a smoke
and flash firefight and the dark rubber
bags being shuffled off to a waiting Huey
... I still hear the rhythm of its
blades slicing dead air in the background
as a reporter betrays the memories of the
fallen... we forget the gut retching
pains of war... stories left untold
pain knows no boundaries there
are no favorites only survivors... I
remember a time a friend and I went out
for a drink my buddy got up to get
another round he was gone only a moment
I hadn’t noticed the two men as they walked
toward the bar... a raucous ensued
I heard fists pounding flesh
turning in my seat Mr. Hyde had one
by the throat the other was lying
unconscious next to a pool cue
jumping to my feet I pulled off
my chum my friend... it was
then I knew gazing into the face from
half a world away war had raised
its ghostly head once more
I am not afraid to die not for
myself... I’m afraid to live with the
pain of others which I have no control
I don’t know how to soothe a child
after losing a father or console a
mother standing before an earthen hole
burying her only son I’ve felt pity
for those crippled
I’ve felt remorse for those living with
regrets after losing a pal when they’re
convinced they died because of them
I don’t need to see another friend
put his service 45 to his head
I don’t need another heroic soldier’s
grave to visit another dark wall to
leave trinkets beside or scratch etchings
there was a time before
today... and I wish we’d never
sent women into battle I wish
we still thought like men
war is hell and our children
need not learn what we have learned
so many many many times before
I’ve never forgotten the promise of my
youth... never would I allow another
Vietnam... never would I sit by
and watch another needless war
but really... what could I do?
Dan Hanosh
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14.
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The Plant
Constant murmur,
drowning the chatter
of the children, splashing
in the pool.
Birds chirping
foretelling
of the extended
heat.
An Airplane soaring
overhead, only its
roar of its engines
tells me of its presence.
Not sweltering,
just hot, bordering
miserable,
humid enough to sweat.
Still the motor
can be heard
in the
distance.
An occasional bug
dive bombs, annoying me
enough to write
about him.
The morning dove hoots,
a robin sings,
announcing
evening has come.
Still the
hum,
radiates
the ear.
If I wasn’t
distracted, the constant
racket would become
deafening.
Slowly, I would focus
on it, it alone,
driving me, driving me
crazy.
Dan Hanosh
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15.
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Two Lives
I’ve been lucky to
have lived two lives,
one for money and the
other for me.
One life to subsist and
the other to contribute
a mere thought, maybe create
an idea that can take hold,
changing another’s life forever.
Maybe the world needs us dreamers,
maybe we create hope for others,
maybe my ideals will strengthen the
worlds values, leading toward a more
righteous tomorrow, just maybe.
In one life I took orders, now I
write of injustices and of utopia,
what could be, hinting at what is,
hoping it won’t last, the righteous
conflict and the resolution.
And just maybe, we will be more than
just small players, maybe we will be
active in making a contribution,
making the world a better place.
Dan Hanosh
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