"Palm Springs- February 2006"
By Benjamin Fortier
The last days in this cushy little country
Are spent comfortably numb
Wandering through the streets
In a drunken stupor.
Two hundred dollars worth of liquor is wasted.
We bought enough for forty people
And between three men
We just can’t finish it all.
What the hell were we thinking?
Reciting poetry and smoking cheap cigars and wondering.
Wondering. Wondering. Wondering.
What will the next few weeks dump on our laps?
Where will we be in the next few months?
Wrapped up in plastic or admitted to a hospital?
Laying down covering fire and tossing hand grenades?
Or bored out of our wits watching Road Trip
For the fourteenth time in a row?
These people all around us
Dumping their money into slot machines
And relaxing in the pool with their fancy, overpriced cocktails.
They had no idea where we were going
And I can’t imagine they would care.
Wandering the streets alone and intoxicated
Hoping to get into a fist fight
So my first taste of uncontrolled violence
Wouldn’t have to be in Iraq.
Poet, musician and former USMC combat veteran Benjamin Fortier has finally published his latest book PHANTOMS, covering his deployment to Iraq in '06-'07.
Follow Ben here.
What’s happening at VetRep…
Listen to our interview this week with Ben Fortier on the Savage Wonder Podcast.
VetRep is thrilled to present “God of Carnage” by Yazmina Reza for the month of September. A playground altercation between eleven-year-old boys brings together two sets of Brooklyn parents for a meeting to resolve the matter. At first, diplomatic niceties are observed, but as the meeting progresses, and the rum flows, tensions emerge and the gloves come off, leaving the couples with more than just their liberal principles in tatters.
Tickets have been selling out, reserve yours early before they’re gone!
We are currently offering multiple dates for our online Playwriting for Veterans classes, and our Acting for Beginners class is now being offered weekly every Saturday from 10am-12pm. Scholarships for qualifying veterans, as well as multi-class passes are available. Registration details can be found here.