Like other paths that I have found Not easy to see when they come around A normal life was never mine Was traded for a new design
I looked and didn't see the reason You'd think that I committed treason The road I took was marked taboo And I've never missed the social glue Jim Hale August 31 2011
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Life in opposition
Friday, August 26, 2011
Bunnies vs Air Force
Bunnies in the bush
Bunnies in the jungle
They took away our teeth
Upper echelon bungle
They took away our lights
That shone out on the wire
We hoped for the best
When we came under fire
But we kept our mortars
Which was a real good thing
We were bunnies in the woods
Hope your listening
Don't put bunnies in the jungle
And leave us out there
Unless you're busy in Saigon
Or you just didn't care
Jim Hale
August 26 2011
Bunnies in the jungle
They took away our teeth
Upper echelon bungle
They took away our lights
That shone out on the wire
We hoped for the best
When we came under fire
But we kept our mortars
Which was a real good thing
We were bunnies in the woods
Hope your listening
Don't put bunnies in the jungle
And leave us out there
Unless you're busy in Saigon
Or you just didn't care
Jim Hale
August 26 2011
Sunday, August 21, 2011
Foreign Medals
Campaign medal and Gallantry Cross
Reminders of the war we lost
A memory kept in a dusty drawer
From a made up country and a long ago war
Jim Hale
August 21 2011
Reminders of the war we lost
A memory kept in a dusty drawer
From a made up country and a long ago war
Jim Hale
August 21 2011
Saturday, July 30, 2011
Winter Soldiers
Evil wicked mean and nasty
A little pissed off, but mostly happy
An angry vet can leave a mark
The FBI did hear me bark
They sent a narc to be my friend
I was young and failed to comprehend
We were never guilty of any crime
But they dropped the hammer big time
For trying to stop the war we fought
They wanted to stop our freedom of thought
Nixon went down and we were acquitted
If the truth was known, it was them we outwitted
Jim Hale
July 30 2011
A little pissed off, but mostly happy
An angry vet can leave a mark
The FBI did hear me bark
They sent a narc to be my friend
I was young and failed to comprehend
We were never guilty of any crime
But they dropped the hammer big time
For trying to stop the war we fought
They wanted to stop our freedom of thought
Nixon went down and we were acquitted
If the truth was known, it was them we outwitted
Jim Hale
July 30 2011
Sunday, July 24, 2011
I Can't Believe I Avoided Time for So Long
I think it was already a month ago that I noticed a new Warrior Writers book was in the works and had a call out for submissions. I meant to get back on right away after I saw that e-mail, but I think that "right away" slipped away a month ago already and I think after I write this posting I'm going to look for my last posting on this blog and think about how long it has been.
I have been writing a whole lot more, and also conspicuously less in some areas. I wanted to enter a creative non-fiction scholarship essay contest in Spring of this year (deadline April 2011) and I decided some kind of account of my deployment would be good to write. After all, I wanted to win the money ($10,000 prize sounds very fine to a struggling single mother) and the climate is ripe for war stories, so I figured I would try.
The problem is I can't remember anything the way it should be told.
My memory is fragmented, my internal timeline is off, and the journal I kept while I was in Iraq? I didn't even MENTION that I was in Iraq one single time.
I was thinking I'd post some fragments on here every few days, and hope for some words of encouragement, workshop advice, or...
Oh, who knows.
I absolutely have to keep writing,
is all.
I have been writing a whole lot more, and also conspicuously less in some areas. I wanted to enter a creative non-fiction scholarship essay contest in Spring of this year (deadline April 2011) and I decided some kind of account of my deployment would be good to write. After all, I wanted to win the money ($10,000 prize sounds very fine to a struggling single mother) and the climate is ripe for war stories, so I figured I would try.
The problem is I can't remember anything the way it should be told.
My memory is fragmented, my internal timeline is off, and the journal I kept while I was in Iraq? I didn't even MENTION that I was in Iraq one single time.
I was thinking I'd post some fragments on here every few days, and hope for some words of encouragement, workshop advice, or...
Oh, who knows.
I absolutely have to keep writing,
is all.
Friday, July 8, 2011
Where Am I?
Where am I?
Swinging to and fro
through the hoops
you have conditioned
me to adapt;
to the changes
you desire most.
Where am I?
On the short train
to hell
fire blazing on my trail
as I consider your
final destiny.
Where am I?
Holding on to nothing
in the air
that suffocates me
and stifles my very words;
words you don't
want to hear.
Where am I?
Inside a tiny jar
struggling to climb
up to the brim
just to be shoved
back to the base
once again.
Where am I?
Somewhere I never
hoped to be
deep inside your head
yet colored
and painted red for hate
you hate me
and that's okay.
Where am I?
Facing such confusion
anger and pain
time for seclusion to take
up camp and stalk
my brain.
Where am I?
Leaving comforts
and joy in the
wind as I step
out to be new again.
Where am I?
I am here
going down the hill
of hope faster
than a bullet
can make one choke.
I am everywhere
you look with those vacant eyes
try, try, try
to move on with
this opportunity
to be simply
just
me.
I am here.
Swinging to and fro
through the hoops
you have conditioned
me to adapt;
to the changes
you desire most.
Where am I?
On the short train
to hell
fire blazing on my trail
as I consider your
final destiny.
Where am I?
Holding on to nothing
in the air
that suffocates me
and stifles my very words;
words you don't
want to hear.
Where am I?
Inside a tiny jar
struggling to climb
up to the brim
just to be shoved
back to the base
once again.
Where am I?
Somewhere I never
hoped to be
deep inside your head
yet colored
and painted red for hate
you hate me
and that's okay.
Where am I?
Facing such confusion
anger and pain
time for seclusion to take
up camp and stalk
my brain.
Where am I?
Leaving comforts
and joy in the
wind as I step
out to be new again.
Where am I?
I am here
going down the hill
of hope faster
than a bullet
can make one choke.
I am everywhere
you look with those vacant eyes
try, try, try
to move on with
this opportunity
to be simply
just
me.
I am here.
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
JUNE 2011 NEWSLETTER
Do
Support the publication of our next book! Donate today to help get the voices of our veterans in print and in the hands of those who need it! Click here to donate.
If you haven’t bought one of our previous anthologies in awhile, consider gifting one to yourself or a friend. Check out our new online store!!
Warrior Writers is partnering with Outward Bound to take veterans on a canoeing and rock-climbing expedition! The course is from July 15-20 in the Delaware Water gap. All expenses paid, including travel to Philly. Paperwork is due Friday, July 1! Don’t let this chance pass you by! You will be glad you went! Click here for more info.
Join us for our next Veterans and Community Conference in Chicago this September. Details will be available on the website next month. Click here to see photos from our Philly conference.
Give thanks for all the new veterans who joined the Warrior Writers community in Boston this past week at the William Joiner Center. We are very grateful for the openness and amazing writing that the Boston vets contributed, and for the allies who helped make it possible. WW Boston be gathering in the next couple weeks to start preparing their submissions for the book. Contact Ian at Boston@warriorwriters.org for more info.
Share
Featured Artist: Hart Viges
War feeds my soul
It gives me purpose
Fire coursing through my veins
Water through my eyes
Gunpowder through my fingers
Heart beats with adrenaline
Mother slaps my face with a kiss
Everything is upside down
Right side up
I hide
I forget
I pray
Home is gone
Sleep in sweat
Drink piss
Hurt people
Hurt myself
War feeds my soul
It gives me purpose
Phoenix rise
Flip the coin
Wear black in Summer
Family safety brief
Found the struggle
The new war
A new way to fight
Fire coursing through my throat
Water through my eyes
Music moves my fingers and feet
Love feeds my soul
It gives me purpose
Writing Exercise - Hart’s piece speaks of purpose. For many the feeling of contributing to something was lost when they left the service. How have you found purpose in new places? Was there a struggle to find it or are you still searching?
Please share your work at any stage with the Warrior Writers community at http://warriorwriters.blogspot.com/ If you need a login, contact members@warriorwriters.org
Be
Be in the loop! We’re in the process of building our database and need your addresses so we can send you postcards about our upcoming events and what not. Please click here http://www.warriorwriters.org/join_form.php to submit your info via our website.
BE OUR MURALIST! If you or someone you know is a muralist or can collaborate with one (apply as a collective) is interested in powerful, innovative work with veterans, download the application now. We’ve extended the deadline and will post the new date on May 10th.
Be in the next Warrior Writers book, be a peer editor! We’ve sent out the call for submissions for our third anthology of work by veterans. Download the complete submission guidelines here. Submissions are due by August 1st, so use the summer time to get your creative juices flowing! Remember, you can post your work on the blog or Facebook to get feedback from others. Warrior Writers artists who are interested in helping to provide in-depth feedback to your peers about their writing should email us by July 6 at info@warriorwriters.org to let us know. Start deciding which four pieces you want to submit.
Be on the website! Warrior Writers artists, what are you up to? Send details on the events you’re organizing or involved in and we’ll post it on the web. Send to webmaster@warriorwriters.org.
Become our friends/supporters/fan on Facebook (Warrior Writers) and invite your friends to spread the word to their network.
Support the publication of our next book! Donate today to help get the voices of our veterans in print and in the hands of those who need it! Click here to donate.
If you haven’t bought one of our previous anthologies in awhile, consider gifting one to yourself or a friend. Check out our new online store!!
Warrior Writers is partnering with Outward Bound to take veterans on a canoeing and rock-climbing expedition! The course is from July 15-20 in the Delaware Water gap. All expenses paid, including travel to Philly. Paperwork is due Friday, July 1! Don’t let this chance pass you by! You will be glad you went! Click here for more info.
Join us for our next Veterans and Community Conference in Chicago this September. Details will be available on the website next month. Click here to see photos from our Philly conference.
Give thanks for all the new veterans who joined the Warrior Writers community in Boston this past week at the William Joiner Center. We are very grateful for the openness and amazing writing that the Boston vets contributed, and for the allies who helped make it possible. WW Boston be gathering in the next couple weeks to start preparing their submissions for the book. Contact Ian at Boston@warriorwriters.org for more info.
Share
Featured Artist: Hart Viges
War feeds my soul
It gives me purpose
Fire coursing through my veins
Water through my eyes
Gunpowder through my fingers
Heart beats with adrenaline
Mother slaps my face with a kiss
Everything is upside down
Right side up
I hide
I forget
I pray
Home is gone
Sleep in sweat
Drink piss
Hurt people
Hurt myself
War feeds my soul
It gives me purpose
Phoenix rise
Flip the coin
Wear black in Summer
Family safety brief
Found the struggle
The new war
A new way to fight
Fire coursing through my throat
Water through my eyes
Music moves my fingers and feet
Love feeds my soul
It gives me purpose
Writing Exercise - Hart’s piece speaks of purpose. For many the feeling of contributing to something was lost when they left the service. How have you found purpose in new places? Was there a struggle to find it or are you still searching?
Please share your work at any stage with the Warrior Writers community at http://warriorwriters.blogspot.com/ If you need a login, contact members@warriorwriters.org
Be
Be in the loop! We’re in the process of building our database and need your addresses so we can send you postcards about our upcoming events and what not. Please click here http://www.warriorwriters.org/join_form.php to submit your info via our website.
BE OUR MURALIST! If you or someone you know is a muralist or can collaborate with one (apply as a collective) is interested in powerful, innovative work with veterans, download the application now. We’ve extended the deadline and will post the new date on May 10th.
Be in the next Warrior Writers book, be a peer editor! We’ve sent out the call for submissions for our third anthology of work by veterans. Download the complete submission guidelines here. Submissions are due by August 1st, so use the summer time to get your creative juices flowing! Remember, you can post your work on the blog or Facebook to get feedback from others. Warrior Writers artists who are interested in helping to provide in-depth feedback to your peers about their writing should email us by July 6 at info@warriorwriters.org to let us know. Start deciding which four pieces you want to submit.
Be on the website! Warrior Writers artists, what are you up to? Send details on the events you’re organizing or involved in and we’ll post it on the web. Send to webmaster@warriorwriters.org.
Become our friends/supporters/fan on Facebook (Warrior Writers) and invite your friends to spread the word to their network.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)