It's Always About Vietnam

Her father’s hand hit the table.
She broke the news
she was headed to Vietnam.
He walked out the kitchen to the barn
and never said a word.
Her father was devastated.
Her mother handled it better.
Memories come easily now
for the former Army captain,
now 62
There was a time
— an entire decade —
when she refused to speak of the war
in which she served.
She cared for the soldiers,
but unprepared for what was to follow...
She came home and got on with the life
she envisioned for herself.
She married, had kids and a part-time job.
There were no missing pieces to her life
— only a hidden one.
She didn’t want people to know that she’d served.
and tried to forget the names and faces
of the dead and dying, hurt and wounded.
Night terrors roused her from sleep...
It’s always about Vietnam.