They shot me down in Vietnam
and threw me in a bamboo cage
where I was tortured till I said,
"My country's wrong; life there's a sham."
Hanoi was bombed and they moved me
with others to another camp.
When isolated from the rest,
I fought to keep my sanity
in concrete bunker underground
with floor my bed and windowless.
I mostly hunkered, much ashamed
I'd lied, had not held out till found.
I told myself "You will go back!"
each day I spent confined alone
until dank heat and ceaseless dark
destroyed all hope, caused me to crack.
How long they kept me penned in there
I had no clue till I was freed
and flown back to my family
who knew me not, could only stare.
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| Writing Prompt |
Write a rhyming poem dedicated to our military heroes. Any length, but must rhyme. |
Author Notes
Clip art courtesy of Google images.
POWs in the Vietnam War were mostly held from 1964-1973 in North Vietnam by the North Vietnamese Army.
591 were released in early 1973 as part of Operation Homecoming. Unfortunately 1350 were still missing.
These prisoners suffered extreme torture and malnutrition. The goal of North Vietnam was to break their will and to get writtenstatements from prisoners that criticized U.S. conduct of the war.
I was not a prisoner. My story is totally fiction. My purpose: to commend these Americans for their courage and sacrifice.
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