"The Men With Guns"

By Ben Fortier

The vast desert is suddenly interrupted
By the sprawling cityscape.
An abrupt protrusion of four-story buildings, Mosques, and water towers
Jutting up from beside the ancient Euphrates River. This is a holy land to many. Historical to the rest of us. Babylon.
Mesopotamia.
The Fertile Crescent.
Uruk.
Palm groves and bridges.
A highway with a cloverleaf interchange.
Busy storefronts and cluttered alleyways.
Familiar spectacles in this land so far from our place of origin.

Three years prior,
The invasion sorted out the remarkable obstacles:
Tanks.
Scud missiles.
Chemical agents
To be used in fear
By the deposed dictator.

Now, our obstacles are invisible and deadly,
With the ability to hide in plain sight
Or disappear back into the population we swore to protect.
Bombs buried in the broken pavement blow up
And break the backs of unsuspecting Marines and soldiers.
Sometimes they go off prematurely.
They wipe out youthful soccer games in the streets. Tiny bodies scattered by the blast.
Their friends and loved ones carry them off

on gurneys

in agony,
As we taunt the assailants to come out and fight us—
The men with guns.

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Native Rhode Islander and proclaimed Renaissance Man, Iraq vet He is the author of Stones of the Wooded Valley and The Silent Whispers of Omens. His latest book PHANTOMS, covers his deployment to Iraq in '06-'07. Ben is the 2024 recipient of the Marine Corps Heritage Foundation’s Robert A. Gannon award for original poetry dealing with Marine Corps Life.

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What’s happening at VetRep…

Join us for an intimate evening of theater in the heart of Cornwall at our cozy Parlor on Quaker Ave. The final Parlor performance of the year will feature seven, 10-minute plays authored by veterans, including plays that have won grants through VetRep’s bi-annual Playwrighting competition. Settle in with a winter mocktail and dessert while we explore drama, comedy, and all the feelings in between through each short play.

POTSHOTS by Stephanie Kline
THE ELEPHANT DELIVERY by Bill Smith
FISH TALE by Phil Wozniak
GIVEN: A WAY by Michael Towers
INTERMISSION PLAY by Dakota Silvey
IT'S NOT BLOOD by Kim Ruyle
SUNSET & VINE by Jack Truman