You ran your fingers through my Elvis hair,
slicked back and duck-tailed
as we mouthed “Love me Tender” between kisses
in the wet grass of that last night
before they cut it all off at Fort Dix
and it fell to the floor piled with the all the rest,
the last piece of our youth swept up,
sheared and bagged, tossed away,
lined us up, all the same, skin-headed, pimply boys
armed with man dreams stuffed with glory
before they dropped us in the jungle
where the stubble grew sweat
and the night hardened us to terror
and we stumbled and battled
to stay alive, to save our brothers,
fought to stop the screams of war
from filling my head,
to keep that piece of you locked safe,
the scent of your skin, the taste of your mouth,
the tickle of your voice in my ear,
the wrinkle of your nose,
blue eyes that burned your love through me,
fought to come back
and know that roses are red
and not frosted-killed brown,
that you would finger curl my hair
before your tongue plunged into my ear,
and your mouth devoured me
and we locked together rolled and writhed
and let the world share in our screaming secret,
that memories were once real
not faint wishes
where in my sleep we are still arms locked and bodies pressed,
and that instead of good-bye
I had whispered I love you to your open heart.
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About michaelstephendaigle
I am the author of the award-winning Frank Nagler Mystery series. "The Swamps of Jersey (2014); "A Game Called Dead" (2016) -- a Runner-Up in the 2016 Shelf Unbound Indie Author Contest; "The Weight of Living" (2017) -- “The Weight of Living” was awarded First Place for mysteries in the 2017 Royal Dragonfly Book Award contest;
Named A Notable 100 Book, Shelf Unbound 2018 Indie Book Awards;
Named a Distinguished Favorite, 2018 Independent Press Awards.
Named a Distinguished Favorite in the 2018 Big NYC Book Contest.
Named a Finalist in the 2019 Book Excellence Awards.
Named A Gold Star Award winner in the 2020 Elite Choice Book Awards
Named a Book Award Winner in 2021 by Maincraft Media Fiction Book Awards;
The Red Hand (2019) a Distinguished Favorite in the 2019 Big NYC Book Contest
Named Second Place winner for mysteries in the 2019 Royal Dragonfly Book Awards
Named a Notable 100 Book in the 2019 Shelf Unbound Indie Book Awards
Named a Distinguished Favorite in the 2020 Independent Press Awards
A Nominee in the 2020 TopShelf Book Awards
Named A Gold Star Award winner in the 2020 Elite Choice Book Awards
Dragony Rising (2022) First Place for Mysteries in the 2022 Royal Dragonyfly Book Awards; named a Notable 100 Indie Book in the 2022 Shelf Unbound Indie Book Awards; A Distinguished Favorite in the 2023 Independent Press Awards. A Distinguished Favorite in the 2023 Big NYC Book Awards.
before they cut it all off at Fort Dix
the tickle of your voice in my ear,
Hello there! Do you use Twitter? I’d like to follow you if that would be okay. I’m absolutely enjoying your blog and look forward to new posts.
on twitter @50eagle50. Thanks