Homeboys

Hung over and hunkered in a resupply chopper to
Dien I leaned away from Wayne hissing hatred of 
slopes, dinks, charleys, names the fearful chanted  
doing homeboy whites deviling blacks.

Zip it, honkie, I thought, must've muttered it, Wayne 
jerked around, hardeyed me, squirted snuff down my 
front.

Grimaced: You first we on the ground sawbones, cut
your gut, dose the paddies your blackass shit.

What'd you do with this endless stream of frightened 
kids, I asked and told myself, do what you do, patch 'em, 
send 'em home in a bag, get ready for more. Why stay 
here, why go home, same either way, here or there,
smoke some dope, stop time, forget.

Rips opened the deck, a gash in Wayne's neck and jaw, 
blood spurted, cheekbone flapped, his eyes rolled white,
he tumbled in my lap, spasmic thrashed, bucked to the open
door. I grabbed his boot which kicked free and Wayne went 
airborne, cartwheeling spraying red and brown.

I flew after him, time to heal, the bird was burning.

Wayne's fluids rose to meet me, raining upward, until I
caught him, hooked our belts, pulled my tools, wrapped his 
wound, shot the dope, into him, into me, time stopped,
we sailed home.

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Date: Fri, 04 Jul 1997 22:29:27 -0400
To: wire@monkey-boy.com
From: John Young <jya@pipeline.com>