15 of 64

by H.G. Hess

Johnny Jay
Got one arm
Sits in a wheel chair
Holding a sign in his lap
"Vietnam Vet: Just one penny to show you care."

Bitterness crumples
His tired, wrinkled face
Stained by years of drinking
To forget his camouflage days
He skin is burned from the brutal sun
His stump wrapped in army green
Dirty cutoff jeans
Blotches on his legs
"Just one penny to show you care."

He spends his days sitting in the hot sun
Below the overpass.
He doesn't beg or plead
He just waits for someone to roll their window down
Pulls out his cup and hopes for that clink
The quarters are nice, they get him coffee
The dollars are great to get some beer
But it's those pennies he waits on all day

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Poetry: Veterans

by H.G. Hess

Poetry: Veterans

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