"Golden years..."

By Steve Callahan

golden years
come and go
in the field with the boys
huddled under a tarp as the
rain pelts down like
mortars all around
you
miserable; mind only on the cigarette
“fuck this”
we all agree
we couldn’t wait to
leave the desert
missing home
missing you.
I wanted to pet my dog
more than I wanted to eat.
we couldn’t wait to get out
so desperate
craving freedom so badly that we
never realized that
the good times
had come and gone and
the longest days
were the best of my life.

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Steve Callahan is a writer, a poet and a former Marine infantryman. Bursting with creative efforts, Steve runs a poetry site, podcast, and is heavily involved in PB Abbate.  Steve’s writing covers his experiences in the Marines, his deployment to Helmand and the psychological peaks and valleys of an infantryman’s life. Follow him here.

Listen to our Podcast with Steve here.