"Shallow Grave" A Poem About Vietnam

"Shallow Grave"

1. Bury my rifle
in a shallow grave
covered with dust in a hideaway
up in the hills it was paradise
down below tears fill my eyes

2. Bodies lined up
on a chopper pad
flown in by birds of prey
forty years doesn't change a thing
I wish I could just walk away

3. I cover my songs
in layers of blood
it's just too hard to see
memories that fade return in the night
they won't let go of me.

4. Don't need your words
of sympathy
it doesn't work that way
you can't understand what you've never seen
if you've never been blown away.

Break:

Changes, changes
I've never needed you more
the view from the top
isn't quite the same
when you're soaked in blood on the floor
you can't stand up
you just can't open the door
no way to find that door.

5. Crossing the night
my chariots on fire
to the depths of Mauna Kea
into the sea this ball of flame
like the path of Kilauea.

6. Wrapped in a shroud
of my babies dreams
covered with snow and ice
boots marching through the night
while up in the hills it's still paradise.

7. Two hundred and twenty volts
running through my veins
I'm pinned against the wall
take me now to the dead of night
let mercy break my fall.

Dennis G Magnusen
23 August 2008
copyright 2008

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