Vietnam Mail Call, the Poem

A tangible hit of far off homes

The orange mail bag

Carries everything from books to poems

The crew chief tosses

It into the air

Eager hands

Quickly snare

The bag from

Over there

Open the bag

And a mixture of heady smells

Dispels the avgas

Kool-Aid and Chanel No. 5

Woolworths perfume too

Pungent but sweet

Waft from the bag

Spices too

A tinge of red chile

From Abiqu

A broken bottle

Of soy sauce

Adds its scent to the mix

But most of all

It's Kool Aid and perfume

That

Take me back there

Grape, Lemon Lime, Cherry, Orange

Raspberry and Strawberry

Fill the air

Powdered packets

That take the tang out of the water

And

Take me back there

Envelopes sent to

Any Marine

From sweet sirenes in Abilene

Romance from far

Away makes my day

Thank you Joanne, Jill and Sue

For your letters

Which carry more than words

I'll never forget you

Even though we never met

You took the time

To even send a rhyme

Decades have passed

But I still sniff my mail

And yes

Deep back

I can still sense the exotic mix

Of

Grape, Lemon Lime

Raspberry and Strawberry

Chanel No. 5

And Woolworths too