A Place Not Far by MikeL

[Graeme]

A Place Not Far by MikeL

If there is anything we fear, the passage of time may may assuage that fear. This is especially true if we have fond memories of a time before the fear first laid claim to our heart. Those we love patiently await us.

:nuke: :nuke: Spoilers Below!!! :nuke: :nuke:

[Graeme]

Ouch!

 

The fact that comes from the heart is painfully obvious, and that the memories are bittersweet (sweet memories, and bitter for the ending) is also clear.

 

 

This reminds me strongly of a song that struck me really hard when I was young(er): I Was Only Nineteen sung by Redgum. It has that same looking back viewpoint with mixed emotions.

 

Thank you, MikeL. A very powerful piece.

[Former Member]

Thank you Mr Mikel!

 

This is far and away your best piece of work on display here. Among other things for the reason that it contains so much more of you than any of your previous works. I join you in acknowledging the fallen and reiterating the reason for why war is such a horrible reality and should NEVER be considered except as a last and truly final resort after everything else has failed to preserve the wellbeing of this nation.

 

When old men send young men to war for any less purpose than this, the meaning and purpose of life and liberty become retrograde.

 

 

Thank you again,

 

 

Love from Joey~

[Kev de Cauchery]

Gosh, Mike, you made me cry so hard...

 

Okay, so I read the end note before reading the poem, and the piece just hit me when it comes to this part.

 

Why did I survive my peers?

 

Why have I grown old and bald

and not my very best friends -

 

 

 

 

Thank you! for sharing this with us.

 

 

[MikeL]

Ouch!

 

The fact that comes from the heart is painfully obvious, and that the memories are bittersweet (sweet memories, and bitter for the ending) is also clear.

 

 

This reminds me strongly of a song that struck me really hard when I was young(er): I Was Only Nineteen sung by Redgum. It has that same looking back viewpoint with mixed emotions.

 

Thank you, MikeL. A very powerful piece.

 

Graeme, thanks for your comments and thanks for sharing that song. I had never heard it before. The poem was difficult for me to write. They really were the best of friends. I started A Place Not Far about two years ago and I cried more than once as I struggled with the words.

 

It brings me pain to live at a time when we are doing it again. My only consolation now is that we no longer have a military draft. My own sons can make their own choice.

Edited November 10, 2012 by MikeL

[MikeL]

Thank you Mr Mikel!

 

 

This is far and away your best piece of work on display here. Among other things for the reason that it contains so much more of you than any of your previous works. I join you in acknowledging the fallen and reiterating the reason for why war is such a horrible reality and should NEVER be considered except as a last and truly final resort after everything else has failed to preserve the wellbeing of this nation.

 

When old men send young men to war for any less purpose than this, the meaning and purpose of life and liberty become retrograde.

 

 

Thank you again,

 

 

Love from Joey~

 

Thank you, Joey, for commenting on the poem. I agree with your comments about war. I don't guess I am a true pacifist, but I should be after all I have witnessed. We certainly don't hold politicians responsible for their decisions as we should.

 

Love and peace, pardner.

Edited November 10, 2012 by MikeL

[MikeL]

Gosh, Mike, you made me cry so hard...

 

Okay, so I read the end note before reading the poem, and the piece just hit me when it comes to this part.

 

Why did I survive my peers?

 

Why have I grown old and bald

and not my very best friends -

 

 

 

 

Thank you! for sharing this with us.

 

 

 

I thank you, Kevin. Sorry about the tears, but sometimes it is good for us to shed a few.

 

Now, you know you shouldn't read the end note first. Always read the poem first, then the poet's comments. You should reach your own conclusions, then see how they contrast with those of the writer. I always hope my comments will entice the audience to read the poem again. The real question is whether I should comment on my own work at all. I usually do, but it might be better for each reader to find for himself what the poem means to him.

Edited November 10, 2012 by MikeL

[Former Member]

It would be very frightening to see some of the things yall has seen Mr Mikel

[Toast]

Wonderful and beautifuly crafted. The care you took in this is obvious. It rings true.

 

 

The presentation is one of the best I have seen in anthologies too.

[MikeL]

Wonderful and beautifuly crafted. The care you took in this is obvious. It rings true.

 

 

The presentation is one of the best I have seen in anthologies too.

 

Thanks for your comments, Sam. They mean a lot coming from an accomplished poet like you. Edited November 10, 2012 by MikeL

[Joeybearr]

Well I know that I am just making this post to get chat status but I DO love yalls huge reputation YAY!

 

Love from Joey~

[MikeL]

Well I know that I am just making this post to get chat status but I DO love yalls huge reputation YAY!

 

Love from Joey~

 

Thanks, Joey. Edited November 10, 2012 by MikeL

[C James]

I am not one for poetry, and I almost never "get" it, but I found this one to be intensely moving.

 

A truly beautiful and profound piece.

 

Thank you, Mike.

[MikeL]

I am not one for poetry, and I almost never "get" it, but I found this one to be intensely moving.

 

A truly beautiful and profound piece.

 

Thank you, Mike.

 

Thanks for your comments, CJ. I guess some of our current readers will have very similar reflections in 40 years or so. Some things never change. Edited November 10, 2012 by MikeL

[MikeL]

It would be very frightening to see some of the things yall has seen Mr Mikel

 

Joey, I guess it's time to set the record straight. I am a Vietnam era veteran. I was never in Vietnam personally. The poem, A Place Not Far, is an effort to honor and memorialize those personal friends who went to Vietnam full of life and with a sense of duty only to leave there in a body bag.

 

I was in Korea when the buildup of forces began in Vietnam. By the time that tour of duty ended, I had only a few months remaining on my active duty commitment...not long enough for another overseas assignment. That's not to say I didn't see some frightening things in Korea. Korea is a relatively wealthy country today; that wasn't true in 1964-66. It was an agrarian economy then...rice paddies fertilized with human waste. You could smell it before the Military Air Transport plane landed at Kimpo.

 

I've slept in a tent when the temperature was -20°F.

 

I had a fellow soldier point a 45 caliber pistol at my face.

 

I've had prostitutes grab the sleeve of my uniform only to apologize profusely and bow deeply when they realized I was an officer.

 

I saw a howitzer misfire, the shell slamming into a hillside above a village about 200 meters away.

 

I saw a helicopter crash, killing the pilot (a Lieutenant Colonel) and two Koreans in the house it landed on. I will never fly in a helicopter again.

 

I was nearly flown into North Korean airspace by an inattentive pilot; fortunately I was alert.

 

So, yes, I saw some frightening things in Korea, but I came back home in one piece. There are 58,195 names on that wall in Washington. Five of them were personal friends. I think the most poignant moment for me was attending the funeral of one of them and speaking with his mother and fiancee. That was a difficult day for me made more so by having our own wedding rehearsal that evening.

Edited November 10, 2012 by MikeL

[Benji]

Joey, I guess it's time to set the record straight. I am a Vietnam era veteran. I was never in Vietnam personally. The poem, A Place Not Far, is an effort to honor and memorialize those personal friends who went to Vietnam full of life and with a sense of duty only to leave there in a body bag.

 

I was in Korea when the buildup of forces began in Vietnam. By the time that tour of duty ended, I had only a few months remaining on my active duty commitment...not long enough for another overseas assignment. That's not to say I didn't see some frightening things in Korea. Korea is a relatively wealthy country today; that wasn't true in 1964-66. It was an agrarian economy then...rice paddies fertilized with human waste. You could smell it before the Military Air Transport plane landed at Kimpo.

 

I've slept in a tent when the temperature was -20°F.

 

I had a fellow soldier point a 45 caliber pistol at my face.

 

I've had prostitutes grab the sleeve of my uniform only to apologize profusely and bow deeply when they realized I was an officer.

 

I saw a howitzer misfire, the shell slamming into a hillside above a village about 200 meters away.

 

I saw a helicopter crash, killing the pilot (a Lieutenant Colonel) and two Koreans in the house it landed on. I will never fly in a helicopter again.

 

I was nearly flown into North Korean airspace by an inattentive pilot; fortunately I was alert.

 

So, yes, I saw some frightening things in Korea, but I came back home in one piece. There are 58,195 names on that wall in Washington. Five of them were personal friends. I think the most poignant moment for me was attending the funeral of one of them and speaking with his mother and fiancee. That was a difficult day for me made more so by having our own wedding rehearsal that evening.

 

I found your poem to be very profound and very hard to read, it invokes too many memories.

[Daddydavek]

I served in an airmobile combat infantry unit in Vietnam. Nice job! And yes the memories are as fresh today as the time I experienced the longest year of my life!

 

Too bad that we can't amend the constitution to require all elected officials to spend at least a couple of years in military service of their country before they can run for public office.

[old bob]

Thank you for your wonderfull poem .

 

Do not forget that also today, in many places in the word, soldiers are suffering, killing and sometimes dying for their country.

The death of comrades, with whom we shared so much suffering, should not make us forget the reasons for our combats..

 

During my many years of military service as an intelligence officer in the Swissair Force, I was fortunate to have never had to fight directly an enemy. The only friends I've lost are a few pilots fallen defending our neutrality.

But I know that with our army, we have prevented the Nazis from invading our country. I am proud to have served and accounted for a meager share in the success of our soldiers.

[TetRefine]

I stumbled across this by accident. Wow....this was incredibly powerful and hit relatively close to home. This line "Some just cry with their heart’s pain/ All are brought low when we see/the flag-draped box of the slain" reminds me of when a soldier from my home town came home in a box from Afghanistan while I was in high school. Its strange how that one line brought me back instantly to that moment....