At War With America

It was the first time I ever did acid
I was riding in the back
Of a stolen army truck
And the sun was shining
We were AWOL for the day and headed for
Vung Tau
On the coast
We were going for a swim
In the ocean
There six of us
All armed of course
Smoking pot
Laughing
Waving at the Vietnamese we passed
Or just staring at them
Few waved back
We hardly noticed
The farmers kept their heads down
And followed the buffalo
That pulled along in front
In the villages
The only people that met our gaze
Were the bargirls
Who lingered outside small dives
And called out for us to stop
And
The children
Who would run alongside
Hands outstretched
But we didn’t stop
We were going for a swim
In the ocean

I lay down on the bed of the truck
And watched the sky
I had no real idea of where we were
Or
Where we were going
And I was tired of looking
At the faces
Theirs
And
Ours
One of the guys said something
And the chatter and laughter stopped
I stood up
We were going through a small village
That had a small river running
Through it’s centre
And spanning the river
Was a bridge
And
Tied with concertina wire
To the bridge
Was the body of a man
Dead
Shot full of holes
His expression was terrible
Monuments wither
Hatred does not
We didn’t stop
We were going for a swim
In the ocean