An Army of One

I am an army of one.
One vision of single mind.
Under this unforgiving sun,
Terrorists and evil I will find.

Once in my extended campaign
They promised it’d be over soon.
The Cabinet with their iced champagne
Brush aside the swelling tombs.

The media in their Right pocket,
One party proclaims a troubling view.
Silencing all that mock it,
Or that puppet of a W.

Iraqi Freedom to American demise.
Our company under brutal attack.
My corpse becomes Tikrit’s prize:
A mutilated body in Iraq.

MYHL
4/21/04

Notes:
· Written after U.S. soldiers bodies were mutilated and paraded in Iraq, April 2004
· “I am an army of one” was the Army recruiting slogan at the time
· W. = George W. Bush
· Operation “Iraqi Freedom” name of the military campaign
· Tikrit was Saddam Hussein’s Hometown

Copyright © 2006 Marc Y. H. Landeweer

A Commission

Commissioned to chart out beauty
Never requesting this particular mission
A prerogative to fulfill my duty
With a bit of muted ambition.

Where is the final destination?
“How can we know the Way?”
Find me some better navigation,
Or at least give me an ETA.

On my knees pleading for direction
Grace provided the abiding source.
I’ll continue in unending reflection,
Plotting out this new found course.

Through His waypoints I will travel,
Might they take me far past Siam,
‘Till I sleep with blankets of gravel,
For my C.O. is known as I AM.

MYHL
4/20/04

Notes:
· “The Way” - John 14:5
· C.O. = commanding officer
· “I AM WHO I AM.” - Exodus 3:14

Copyright © 2006 Marc Y. H. Landeweer