The Veteran November 7, 2006

In honor of Veteran’s Day, November 11.

The Veteran

Shoulders droop.
Hair black bold streaks
softened now
with white wings.
He ambles on squeaky feet.
A balancing act
befitting his age.
Clutching a cane
like a maestro’s baton
orchestrating the walk
with quick jagged strokes.
Eyes outlined in gray pencil
what used to be black
bold lines
painted by experience
in pointillistic pain.
That was then.
His eyes still whisper
what he knows
like a snake swishing
through the grass
muffling its rattle
in the soft turf.
The legend of the damned
lurks behind a cloak
of civility.
The man knows civility.
He gave his youth for it.

Copyright 2006 JO Janoski