JUST ONE MORE DAY...
I served as a medic in a place called Nam
Being totally unprepared for what I saw and had to do
Learning how to live was learned by surviving just one more day
I learned to survive one more patrol,
one more ambush,
one more convoy,
one more C ration meal,
one more trip down Thunder Road,
one more trip to a Hot LZ in the Plain of Reeds,
one more trip to the Tan An bridge,
one more wounded soldier,
one more day of down time,
one more mortar attack,
one more medicap,
one more day of living with the leeches, mosquitoes, and snakes,
one more monsoon rain,
until they all added up to just one last day
to the ride of my life on a Freedom Bird
taking me to the place I used to call Home.
After 35 years, I am still surviving
I am still dealing with the pain and guilt of being a survivor.
But I am doing this by surviving just one more day
I learned to survive the VA denial of my claims
Living with Agent Orange
Night-mares from PTSD
Being called a baby-killer and spat on when I returned
Being lost on the journey trying to find my way home
As much as I was your medic,
the healer of the sick,
the fix-it guy,
the one who made house calls
I find that I cannot heal myself,
or fix my heart,
or take away the pain
so I am writing to begin my journey...
As I keep going day after day of survival
Maybe, just maybe, this might be the day
I find my way HOME.