"Missing Heart"

by Mason Rodrigue

When I think of you now,
I want to put my gun to my chest
and blow my heart out through my back.
I’d miss completely, 
of course.
Although I rarely miss you 
these days,
you’ve still got my heart.
You can keep it, 
because I don’t really want to give it away 
to another woman again,
but I wish you’d at least give me back 
my half of our boot camp love letters.
That way,
you can remember your new chapter 
you started writing as a nurse in New Orleans
when I shipped off,
and I can have my poetry and short stories 
from the beginning of my writing career,
and we can go on keep trying to forget 
the other was ever part of it.

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Mason Rodrigue is a former USMC machine gunner. Listen to his most recent interview on the Savage Wonder podcast here.

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Come see Mason read Rock Eater live at the Savage Wonder Festival of veterans in the arts on May 29! Have you gotten your tickets yet? They are only $15 right now. That price is going to go up May 1, so get them now!

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If you give monkeys enough time, can they really write Hamlet? How did Leon Trotsky actually react to finding an axe embedded in his head? What does it take for two strangers to fall in love without screwing it up? Are you having a bad day or are you simply stuck in a "Philadelphia"? The VetRep 2022 season of staged readings kicks off with an evening of fast and funny staged readings featuring the whimsical comedy of David Ives.

Get your Pay What You Can tickets here quickly - remember on 16 seats per performance!