Ruth Holzer
Happy Hour
Fridays at five the old soldiers sit around the clubhouse drinking and swapping war stories. Who’s partially deaf from field artillery fire, who still limps from shrapnel in his legs. Whose spine is damaged from too many parachute landings. Whose lungs are wrecked from exposure to toxic chemicals. Who has a steel plate in his head. The one who served three years in a missile silo in Nebraska says he regrets never getting to see combat.
sooner or later into the wild blue yonder
About the Author
Ruth Holzer‘s poems have appeared previously in contemporary haibun online as well as in Acorn, Frogpond, Modern Haiku, Presence, red lights, and Ribbons. She has served as a co-editor of Haibun Today and assistant editor of tinywords. Her haibun collections are Home and Away and On the Way to Man in Moon Passage (both published by dancing girl press).