"Child Soldier"
by Amy Sexauer
Before I could buy alcohol I sold my innocence For street cred in the brotherhood I learned how to throw my hips into a punch Before I understood What my hips were for I grieved a fallen soldier Before I ever grieved a broken heart Before I enjoyed the taste of coffee And kisses I enjoyed the taste of winning And labored to hold it in my mouth I fantasized about what it would be like to kill somebody Before I thought to fantasize about marrying somebody I knew the familiar taste of sweat Crystallizing on my skin Before I knew others would taste that way I trained to carry the weight of a man Before I had ever carried the weight of a man
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.
Want the best date night possible this Saturday night? Drinks, dessert, a hilarious live performance, professional actors, an intimate unforgettable space, pay-what-you-can tickets…it simply does not get better than this. So come on out and join us at our Parlor on Quaker Avenue for our staged reading of Ira Levin’s legendary Broadway comedy/thriller Deathtrap.
Don’t know Deathtrap? It was the winner of the 1978 Edgar Award for Best Play and record holder for the longest-running comedy thriller on Broadway. It’s about Sidney Bruhl - a successful Broadway playwright with writer’s block and a recent spate of box office failures. Desperate to break his dry-spell, Sidney finds hope in Clifford Anderson, a student in his seminar class who has submitted a thriller script, cleverly titled Deathtrap as well. Can Sidney convince Clifford to collaborate and give him co-credit? Or is there a way to cut Clifford out altogether and get sole credit?
As always, you’re welcome to show up and hope for a cancellation. But if you really want to see the show, why not book now and save yourself the uncertainty?
This week on the Savage Wonder podcast…
J.F. Holmes is a retired Army Senior Noncommissioned Officer, having served for 22 years in both the Regular Army and Army National Guard. During that time, he served as everything from an artillery section leader to a member of a Division level planning staff, with tours in Cuba and Iraq, as well as responding to the terrorists attacks in NYC on 9-11.
From 2010 to 2014 he wrote the immensely popular military cartoon strip, "Power Point Ranger", poking fun at military life in the tradition of Beetle Bailey and Willy & Joe.
His books range from Military Sci-Fi to Space Opera to Detective to Fantasy, with a lot in between, and in 2017 two are finalists for the prestigious Dragon Awards.
In 2018, he launched Cannon Publishing, (www.cannonpublishing.us) specializing in anthologies and works from up and coming authors.
J.F. Holmes has published over eighteen books and two novellas.
Feel free to join The Command Post on Facebook, and get a chance to influence the course and plot of his next book!
Follow Cannon Publishing here.