I don’t usually do this, but I’m going to share a poem I wrote. I feel that my blog is not the appropriate place to roll out new poems of mine. It’s not that I don’t value self publishing. I do. But having someone else publish my poems lends itself to a certain credibility that self publishing just doesn’t do. That’s why I’d rather send individual poems out through the submission process and hope that publishers find the value them. In this case, however, this particular poem has been published so I do not feel like I am losing any value. Most publishers of poetry don’t republish what has been published elsewhere. Therefore, it is likely that this poem will not see publication again unless it appears in book form – which it will.
The poem is a part of a selection of poems I wrote while in Iraq in 2005. I am revising these poems for publication and plan to publish them as a book once I have finished the revision process. I am nearing completion. The title of this poem is “Battlefield Confession.” It is reprinted below. I hope you like it:
Battlefield Confession
I have been to war
That much is true
Though halfway I can say at best;
And when the day is done
I turn out the light
And sleep cozy in my nest.
I’ve ridden hard the battle
That most men adore
And would fight the good fight again;
But to be honest and fair
I’d like to admit
That I’ve never killed a man.
‘Tis true, and I’ll say it again;
It’s not so bad,
I’m half a pound glad
Not to have killed a man.
Published in 2006 in Small Brushes by Adept Press.
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