I put on my sneakers
Packed water and sunscreen
To spend the day hiking
The nation’s cemetary
How many football fields
Will it take to turn my stomach?
The neat manicured lawns
And precisely laid
Gravestones
Tucked into the evaporating
Landscape of our capital
The crosses of Normandy
Are the same shake of stone
But felt solemn
There are tourists at Normandy
But Arlington feels like a tourist attraction
One place feels consecrated
The other like a shiny facade
Designed to trap children
Amy Sexauer is a poet and author of Poppies published by Dead Reckoning Collective, from which this poem was taken. She is a West Point graduate who spent nine years on active duty in Military Police and Psychological Operations units. She is currently in the Army Reserves. You can listen to our Savage Wonder episode with her here. Follow her here.
What’s happening at VetRep…
If you missed it live, you can still watch our final Write Loud of the year featuring a message from Scott Mann, and poetry from s.p. burke, Anthony Roberts, Chris Madsen, and Dex, right here on our Instagram page.
Listen to our latest podcast with the whole VetRep team here.
The Winners of our 2nd Playwriting competition have been announced, check out the winners and their work here!