Da Nang
by: Allison Ewing
© 2001

His eyes seemed far away

And what did he see

As he gazed past the camera?

He would be a man now,

If he lived.

But here he is a boy in fatigues,

A clean white shirt worn underneath.

Weariness shows in his face,

The set of his brown eyes.

He’s my age.

I would look the same

Were I waiting on an alien shore

To fight for a land

not my own.

Waiting for combat, waiting

And reflecting on what only I can see.