Byron fled to Europe. I fled
Wilmington at a younger age
To Korea and Japan – merely a
PFC I could not match
His wanderings, traveling
To Kunsan, Cheju Island,
Two trips to Japan.
When my tour ended
I saw Treasure Island,
Twenty-Nine Palms and
Pendleton which I didn’t
Need to leave but did
Having read Byron
In the base library.
Was it honorable
To settle down in
Aerospace or continue
Seeing the places at hand,
Vietnam, Nicaragua, Panama?
I was at those times reading poetry
And diving off San Pedro’s shore.
I never wanted more
Than what I had:
Not the belletristic wealth
That Byron, Crane, Pound
And others sought; which
Ought not to preclude
The poems it seems to me.
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