Tim Bone

ANNIVERSARY DAY

Awarded: February 20, 2008“You’re hit, you’re hit,” I heard Wes yell
With utter urgency
I snapped my head around in dread
To find who it might be

But Charlie’s AKs poured it on
I dove behind a tree
“You’re hit, you’re hit,” Wes said again
Then dove down next to me

The tree was taking heavy fire
That stripped it of its bark
There’s nothing like a fire fight
To make daylight seem dark

The sweat was thick upon my face
So things were all a blur
Then Wes laid down his M16
I said, “Who’s been hit, Sir?”

I bent my arm and ran it from
My forehead to my chin
To wipe the sticky sweat away
So I could see again

It seemed completely odd to me
He didn’t say a word
A rush of terror made me think
Someone was more than hurt

Suspended Animation is
The term to summarize
How everything just freezes up
When a Brother dies

But this time I had read it wrong
And Wes spoke, finally
“T Bone, can you hear me”?
“T Bone, can you see”?

Already with a face full of
More sweat and dirt and mud
I thought, “Why is he asking that?”
And then I tasted blood

At first I had confusion
And then felt great relief
It was me who had been hit
There’d be no death to grieve

It wasn’t sweat or mud or dirt
That kept filling my face
A shell had creased my forehead
And my blood was everyplace

The first time I was wounded
There was terror in my eyes
This time I got really pissed
And out to kill those guys

I jumped out from behind that tree
And emptied out my clip
A crazy man who’d lost his cool
Wes got me in his grip

He pulled me down and wiped my face
He said, “It don’t look bad”
It grazed me just below my hair
What I mostly felt was mad

Today’s that anniversary
I ought to know I’m blessed
But honestly, some days I don’t
That war won’t let me rest