My Mothers Love

My newest undertaking is a book of poetry dedicated to the memory of my dear Mother. This is a heart felt project and one that means everything to me. It will be filled with memories and pictures to go along with the poems.

My plans is to have it finished by Mothers Day 2014 as it is a big process getting all the old photos ready for the book. I hope that everyone will enjoy it when finished.

                              Mother and me 1949

Memories of War

It was the summer of 1968 on a lonely dirt road in a place called Vietnam. A beautiful sunny day and a jeep ride to a barge site called Cat Lai that I had been to many times before.

My jeep

The Lonely Dirt Road

On a lonely dirt road in middle of a war

I was only 19 a mere kid new to this game

This game we call war, I hadn't learned the score

This game adults play, using their kids as pawns

I transported pilots from Saigon to the ports

I got my first call in the summer of 68

I had not yet learned about war

Had not learned of this thing called hate

It was in the middle of a rice paddy

Just a young soldier and his pilot

Headed down that long dusty road

The pilot was my only load

We were ten miles out and no one around

It was a beautiful day, it was quiet, not a sound

Down by the river so far out of town

It seemed like a short ride

Only a fool would venture out this far all alone

A bend in the road and a forest ahead,pretty trees all around

Shots ring out piercing the quiet,what a blood curdling sound

Holes in the windshield and a hole in his head

I looked the pilots way,was he dead?

Young soldier grabs his weapon as he looks all around

His heart is pounding, as he stays close to the ground

With his weapon in hand, would he be killed in this strange land?

He radios for help as he and a sniper the only ones around

Was the sniper alone, would others join him soon?

Was the sniper alone or an entire platoon?

Soldier checks his ammo, only one clip in his hand

Would help get there before he spilled his blood on the sand?

The radio crackled, help was on the way

But when faced with death, an hour becomes a day

He listened he waited, didn't dare breath

Would this enemy hut him, or would he leave?

Finally after what seemed like an eternity, the sound of a chopper

A gun ship this soldier hoped

This fear was making waiting harder to cope

From his hiding place he dared not raise his scope

The chopper got closer, he heard guns blazing

The bullets cut the trees, the smoke looked like a hazing

Five men jumped from the chopper with guns

He wondered; so this is how it's done

The soldier felt something warm on his cheek

On his check there was blood, flesh cut by flying glass

He had not noticed any pain

He was busy concentrating so his very life he could gain

The jeep windshield had been shattered

In the frantic hail of bullets, it had not mattered

But the pilot was dead, shot through the head

This soldier thought, it could have been me instead

Young man had never been shot at before

This experience changed him to the core

Some experiences can change a man so they say

Some experiences can change you for ever more

The road to Cat Lai

Poems of a Forgotten War

(Remembering Vietnam)

Available on Amazon.Com

Barnes & Noble

Reflections of Saigon

                      (Picture was taken Sept 1967 upon my arrival)

The following is a poem that I wrote about Saigon for my book "Poems of a forgotten war" hope you enjoy it.

THE CITY OF SAIGON

When I first saw this place we formed a bond
The streets of this city were a sight to behold
I wandered the markets, tasted the food
I walked her streets and felt so bold

This lovely,lovely unspoiled city
To a young soldier, she seemed so pretty
The smells of food could lift my mood
She would one day be in ruins, such a pity

As a young soldier I loved her
I went to her bars and walked her streets
I watched her people, living and happy
I walked her streets, for my senses, such a treat

From shop to shop I used to hop
You could buy food and silk suits
Girls on the corner wanting your companionship
To look at them you'd not always see their hardship

The girls so tempting and calling
I wonder how many soldiers virtue went falling
Come hither, they'd say
Be my companion for just this day................

This book is a story of war told in the form of poems, check it out today on Amazon.com

A War is still a War

A War is still a War

Whether it is to Vietnam or to the Middle East

Soldiers pack their bags to heed the call

Some will survive the tour, while some will fall

It doesn't matter where the call is from

Soldiers take heed when America says: "Come"

A war is still a war

We had a war to 'end all wars'

When will countries stop trying to even the score?

The Big One didn't do the trick to make them cease

Countries still have a problem living at peace

Whether it takes place in a jungle or a desert

A war still calls to its men in arms

Good men will show up to help keep the peace

To stand up for those who cannot protect themselves

Good men will assist those who need their help

Men are saying they don't want to come home just yet

When you feel the job's not done, it's hard for it to set

A job not done, gets inside your bones my Son

In Vietnam we knew, we went home yet there was still no calm

It plays on your mind

You feel you let down the memories of those left behind

You come home, but not alone

You bring ghosts of a war, you seen things you never seen before

That kind of thing, the sights, the smells, the people are in your core

Your civilian loved ones don't understand

Don't understand what you gave up to become a man

You gave up your youth and rose colored glasses

You gave it all up to kick some enemy asses

Loved ones will never fully get how you feel

They ask: "What's wrong, whats the deal?"

You can never fully explain

In the area of war, you're on a different plane

Some people will even peg you as insane

But you know you cannot just return to the mundane

Bless you my Comrades

What you saw, what you will always feel, they don't get;

The Bad Boys of Company B

The Bad Boys of Company B

We are the heart breakers

And the beer drinkers

The trouble makers

And the life takers

We bust our ass all day

We like to fight all night

We hail from everywhere

From the east coast to the west coast

We might take a toke

But it's no joke

When the enemy is in sight, we don't hesitate

We squeeze the trigger to our delight

Tracers ripping into the night

It must be a huge fire fight

The overwhelming urge to break and run

The paralyzing instinct to freeze or hide

The flares are popping overhead

The shadows are dancing on the ground

As we ramble on down the trail

The bullets streaking through the air

In the distance sickening sounds

The deadened thump of mortar rounds

Shouts of in-coming and everyone running

Nowhere to run to and nowhere to hide

You just might live to see another day

For this time it's do or die

We called it Our Vietnam

We called it our Vietnam

I called it my Vietnam

We all called it our Vietnam

We felt it was, as a war quite versed

As versed as any psalms

When we first arrived, as kids

We'd have sworn we had her in our very palms

Wasn't long until before our very eyes

This War would soon cut us down to size

Too big for our britches we were

But we never forget how to say 'sir'

We thought as young whips, we were cunning

We soon discovered Vietnam wasn't just funning

Oh yes, Boys, she meant business and knew her stuff

When asked back home 'did She win?'

We'd knock back a drink and say 'sure enough'

We felt kind of whipped

We had felt ill equipped

But back home older veterans shook their heads

"We could have attested to that fact, nough said"

Why didn't ya tell us fellas, we asked

We could say till the cows came home

But we knew our warnings don't last

One generation whipped, and ill equipped

The next generation, same thing

Each generation, having a new war song to sing

Would you have believed us then?

No, you'd have said: "Come again?"

Just as when we were young, we are different we said

We all say the same to those before us in time

We say the same thing until war makes us count our dead

(c) S. Weathers 2011

Live each day like it’s your last

As the years tick by

And time seems to fly

Enjoy each day like there is no tomorrow

Do all the things you love to do

Fulfill all your dreams and desires

Who cares what anyone thinks

Surf the net, surf the waves

Have a whiskey, have a beer

Lift the glass to drink good cheer

You can ride a bike or exercise

But this is a fact, no surprise

That little heart only gets so many beats

So when you exercise, thinking death you cheat

You’re wrong my Friend

You’ll in the end get a plot covered in peat

So enjoy your time now

Don’t let anyone dissuade you somehow

Through this life, enjoy, glide don’t just plow

Today is today

Yesterday’s gone

Live life today, write new songs

Enjoy each day as if it’s your last

Have a good time

Have a party, have a blast

Stop smell the roses

Look at pretty ladies with hoses

Maybe they’ll give you some poses

Being old is no curse

Maybe a lady will call you fresh

Maybe they’ll hit you with their purse

So I put on my shoes to go running

Well on second thought

I think I’ll go to the lake and go sunning

Don’t let life give you a fright

Live each day like it’s your last

One day you too will get it right

Remember when America Stood for something

Say La Vie said the old folks

This country used to belong to you and me

We saw a lack of Civil Rights and knew it wasn’t right

We knew about the trickle down affect, long before Ronald Regan

Especially when it came to social issues

But we didn’t sit and whine and cry

And we didn’t say please pass the tissues

Our friends back then said “It isn’t right”

But instead of saying, ‘Oh well’ we fought with all our might

The government said we were Commies, Subversives and wanted us to shut up

But we laughed, rallied in groups, took to the streets and said

‘Sorry big Gov, your lawlessness time is now up’

The government boys said we’d ‘get hurt if we kept on’

We said, “Go ahead then, fill up our cup’

They came at us with cops, tear gas, and Billie clubs

We lived through some big times

Some history enough to write a big fat hub

Did we stop because we met a cop?

No sir we kept on and stood up for what’s right

We rallied, protested from the North, South, East and West

We rallied and did our best from New York State to Kent State

When our brothers were hurting, our duties we did not keep skirting

We knew with danger we might be flirting

Our parents sighed, our parents cried

The elders said why do this?

We said because YOU taught us to care

How can we live in a world of pain we don’t share?

The old folks said, ‘well you have us There’

Just like today, we could have shied away

But when you roll over, to your kids what do you say?

You tell of a tale of being a coward and scared?

Or tell them, it wasn’t right, we had to go there?

I’d rather say I tried, stood up and never shied

Instead of being run off a cliff while for cowards No One cries

We remember heroes

When we let it go on as cowards, we are Less than zero

What should OUR children and grandchildren say?

Our parents and grandparents let scoundrels have their way?

Why they didn’t care for future generations, it’s hard to say

Will you allow it or will you save the day?

We now say the rich got rich by hard work

The rich got rich by being jerks

You want your grandchildren sent to a mine to work?

If we don’t say a word, WE are the jerks!

You want to be a follower and pushed from a cliff?

Are you afraid to be a leader because of a little riff?

Yes, stand up for your rights there will be a tiff

But standing up in America is the only way to UP LIFT

It won’t get done by simply lip service

Has this Generation ever heard of community service?

Or does a little hard work make you nervous?

So stand up for America or they will have there way just like a thief in the night

© S. Weathers 2011

So when is an Ass an Ass

1920 French A.S.S.

Driving through the country side

Along the road I seen a Ass

Prettiest ass I ever did see

Pulling a wagon down the hill

Watching him was such a thrill

So when is an ass a bad word?

For an ass you see is an Animal

Some say an ass is an idiot

If you’re an ass you are stupid

An ass is also an old French car

An ass is a human Gene

So if someone says you are an ass

You just might get mad at them

But if you say you have a French Ass

They might be enthralled with you

For Wikipedia says an ass is not a bad word

So tell me now, what’s the big deal about an ass?

I guess it’s all in the eyes of the reader

So if I like my neighbors ass it’s no big deal

© S. Weathers 2011

A Kiss beneath the Old Umbrella

Sitting on the break wall by the river’s edge

Underneath the Old umbrella with you upon my lap

We while away the hours as we share love’s embrace

I leaned towards you and closed my eyes

As I placed my hands upon your thighs

Our lips meet with passionate desire

You smell so sweet, like the summer flowers

I could sit here forever and while away the hours

Under this umbrella and the summer showers

Your lips taste like brandy wine

Won’t you be mine forever in time

On a feast of love we will dine

Passers by stop and stare

We are wrapped in love with no care

Simply the two of us in a world we don’t share

I only have eyes for you filled with love

I feel like you are a gift from above

Your skin is so soft, like a morning dove

Sitting on the banks with you my sweet

It’s like a picnic, a wonderful treat

Your kisses sweep me off my feet

© S. Weathers 2010

We Called it Our Vietnam

I called it my Vietnam

We all called it our Vietnam

We felt it was, as a war quite versed

As versed as any psalms

When we first arrived, as kids

We'd have sworn we had her in our very palms

Wasn't long until before our very eyes

This War would soon cut us down to size

Too big for our britches we were

But we never forget how to say 'sir'

We thought as young whips, we were cunning

We soon discovered Vietnam wasn't just funning

Oh yes, Boys, she meant business and knew her stuff

When asked back home 'did She win?'

We'd knock back a drink and say 'sure enough'

We felt kind of whipped

We had felt ill equipped

But back home older veterans shook their heads

"We could have attested to that fact, nough said"

Why didn't ya tell us fellas, we asked

We could say till the cows came home

But we knew our warnings don't last

One generation whipped, and ill equipped

The next generation, same thing

Each generation, having a new war song to sing

Would you have believed us then?

No, you'd have said: "Come again?"

Just as when we were young, we are different we said

We all say the same to those before us in time

We say the same thing until war makes us count our dead

(c) S. Weathers 2011

Where did the Children go

What has happened to the World Today?

Everybody struggling to find a way

To end the suffering and the pain

To find the happiness once again

What about the little children

Who never learn how to play

It’s almost like they went far away

When they’re young, just let them show it

If we love them dearly, let them know it

They grow up too fast, so let’s not blow it

One day they’re very small

Then you turn around and they’re tall

Kids barely venture outside

In their rooms they tend to hide

While sitting on a Playstation

They barely need imagination

Their friends are on a computer or cell phone

So they never do things, they’re always alone

As kids, we didn’t have 10,000 friends

But we formed personal friendships that didn’t bend

But on a computer the number of friends never ends

But un-like when we were kids

They don’t meet face to face

And never socialize in a special place

Electronic friendships are shallow and low

Because an electronic friend is hard to know

What happened to the stuff we used to know?

Where is the playtime? Where did it go?

My newest adventure

I'm working on my newest adventure and hope to have it done in a couple months in time for a summer release. My second book of Poems that I had written over the years about my Military experiences and heartaches. Hope you check it out when it comes out.