From: themilitarytoday@pacbell.net   
      
   Veterans Day / Memorial Day Poem #247   
      
   What am I a veteran of?   
      
   What am I a veteran of?   
   A veteran of gut-wrenching fear   
   A veteran of no kind face to say its ok   
   A veteran of wide awake nights   
   A veteran of heat too hot to breathe   
   A veteran of knowing hate   
   A veteran of the streets of hatred   
   A veteran of facing the eyes of evil   
   A veteran of questions with no answers   
   A veteran of innocence shattered   
   A veteran of not knowing how to go on   
   A veteran of yearning for home   
   A veteran of pain with no end   
   A veteran of numbness   
   A veteran of hearing tears on the phone   
   A veteran of grieving my friends   
   A veteran of burying the dead   
   A veteran of hunger and thirst   
   A veteran of the depths of despair   
   A veteran of head splitting noise   
   A veteran of heart splitting sights   
   A veteran of hope and of losing hope   
   A veteran of loneliness   
   A veteran of darkness   
   A veteran of war   
   A veteran of service   
   A veteran of faith   
   A veteran of pride   
   A veteran of my country.   
      
   Written from the Heart by Lisa   
   Veterans daughter   
      
   More Poetry: http://members.aol.com/warlib/poems.htm   
   Submit a poem: http://www.amervets.com/poems/mypoem.htm   
      
   -- Otis Willie (Ret.)   
      Military News and Information Editor (http://www.13105320634.com)   
      The American War Library, Est. 1988 (http://www.amervets.com)   
      16907 Brighton Avenue   
      Gardena CA 90247   
      1-310-532-0634   
      
      Military Webmaster Site Link Request Form:   
      http://www.amervets.com/linkreq.htm   
      
      Military and Vet Info-Exchange/Discussion Groups   
      http://members.aol.com/amerwar/share.htm   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)