Just One More Week

Just one more week and I’ll be home
No more patrolling jungle trails
I wonder will I be stateside
Before my letter arrives in the mail?

Just one more week to endure
The chances that I’ll be shot
A body bag could be my fate
Earn a Purple Heart, I’d rather not

Just one more miserable week
Will I have to endure this heat
No more rain or jungle rot
No fungal infection on my feet

In one more week, I’ll say goodbye
To all my comrades in arms
My tour of duty has ended
No more fear of buying the farm

Just one more week I have to go
Until I board that homebound plane
The stench will finally go away
No more lingering in my brain

Just one more week in Vietnam
In a war we’re not allowed to win
Would someone please tell me
If the things I’ve done are a sin

Just one more week in Vietnam
God, forgive me for what I’ve done
Kill or be killed is a soldier’s lot
In this conflict that can’t be won

Just one more week in Vietnam
I think of all my buddies who died
Why them now that I’m going home
In remorse, I bowed my head and cried

Friday, June 17, 2022