"BOOM, BAP, CRACK, AND POP"
By Keith Walter Dow
I was 5, maybe…
When I found what destroyed others and saved me.
Dad dragged home a barrel of toy guns and I loved it;
Swords, pop guns and muskets.
I was 9, maybe…
When I learned about Brenda’s baby and why we’re crazy.
Mom brought home a box of rap cassettes, I ate it up;
Raekwon tape played so much, my radio ate its guts.
Neither took the other’s hints.
Neither liked the other’s gifts.
Neither took the other’s shit.
Neither liked the other.
I learned a lot back then, about conflict for kicks,
Playing war, listening to songs about this.
In a house, hearing fights through walls with balled fists,
About leaders pushing their conflict on kids.
I learned a lot since then, but I hold on to it still,
Pounding pavement and prose about a lotta life’s thrills,
Stashing mentors and leaders where wisdom exists,
Passing on action, learning in vacuums to live.
Keith Walter Dow is a former Army MP and bouncer, and the author of Karmic Purgatory from which this selection was taken. He is the co-founder of Dead Reckoning Collective. You can follow him on IG here.
Learn more about Veterans Repertory Theater here.