Life After War | Teen Ink

Life After War MAG

March 13, 2010
By BreeTayler PLATINUM, Carlisle, Arkansas
BreeTayler PLATINUM, Carlisle, Arkansas
30 articles 0 photos 57 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Where there is love there is life." --Ghandi


When I walked into the classroom I noticed my teacher was not there
In her place was an old man with a gentle but ghostly stare
He stood with sagging shoulders but his head was up high
He seemed too nice to trick so I didn't even try
I took my usual place in the corner of the brightly lit room
And when the old man stood up I could already picture his awaiting tomb
Class was about to begin but first we said the Pledge
I stood up as always but some sat down with their heads on their desks instead
When the old man opened his mouth to speak he said something I didn't expect
He looked at the ones sitting and said, “I know you may not care but I am highly upset.”
The rest of us sat down at our desks while he called roll
After he marked off the students who were absent he began his toll
“In the 1960s a war with Vietnam took place,” he said.
“It may not matter now but my friends fought in it. All wounded and underfed.
U.S. troops were outnumbered, we never ­really had a chance.
Thousands of men died and you can't honor them with a simple stance.”
All was silent and the atmosphere suddenly turned cold
The stern expression on the man's face began to unfold
His jaw unlocked and his face twisted into an eternal pain
My stomach panged with grief and I saw from the window it began to rain
“There were only six snipers that went in to attack.”
He looked away, into the distance, “And only one came back.”
I saw then that in his eyes was the dolefulness of the life after war
I would never have been able to see such a loss before
This man had seen something I could never explain
I would never experience his mourning, I would never feel his pain
Some kids snickered and some laughed out loud as the old man started to cry
I saw from my seat that his entire frame was shaking as he whispered, “My friends are all dead. I watched them die.”


The author's comments:
This is a true story...
R.I.P Mr. Monaco

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This article has 8 comments.


on Mar. 31 2016 at 7:04 am
PencilPoint SILVER, Newton, Massachusetts
9 articles 0 photos 3 comments

Favorite Quote:
"I guess we are who we are for a lot of reasons. And maybe we'll never know most of them. But if we don't have the power to choose where we come from we can still choose where we go from there."- Perks of Being a Wallflower

Amazing poem. Very sad. I loved the rhyming scheme.

on Feb. 9 2012 at 2:39 pm
beautifulspirit PLATINUM, Alpharetta, Georgia
35 articles 0 photos 1398 comments

Favorite Quote:
The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.
--Eleanor Roosevelt

This is such a sad poem, but true---I can't imagine what that man must've felt in that classroom with those ignorant, laughing kids. That is so cruel. But you writing this poem in his honor, lets others know what he faced in war is a great thing.

msp49 BRONZE said...
on Aug. 24 2011 at 4:22 pm
msp49 BRONZE, Middletown, Connecticut
4 articles 1 photo 39 comments
You summed this up really well and I actually had the urge to cry...wasn't expecting to get emtional, but this was great.  Excellent job, you really had me relate to the man in the story.

on Aug. 15 2011 at 10:54 pm
BreeTayler PLATINUM, Carlisle, Arkansas
30 articles 0 photos 57 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Where there is love there is life." --Ghandi

I wrote it as a poem because Mr. Monaco (I still can't spell his last name right) had once told me that he enjoyed poetry. He died. And I wrote it in his honor... To write it as a short story would, to me, be less honorable...

on Jan. 6 2011 at 1:23 pm
KALEB SAUTER BRONZE, Carrollton, Texas
2 articles 0 photos 3 comments
great poem man i liked the way how you used ryming and still was very deep

on Dec. 1 2010 at 5:57 am
Jakethesnake BRONZE, Hernando, Mississippi
1 article 0 photos 96 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Read, Read... Read everything, then write."-William Faulkner

This is just my opinion, but why write this as a poem? I mean, it's excellently written, but a story would have been cool.

on Nov. 30 2010 at 9:28 pm
dolphin13 BRONZE, North St. Paul, Minnesota
1 article 0 photos 125 comments
Wow! This poem is very touching. I think that sometimes we forget how much the troops have done for us. Your poem reminds us of their sacrifice. Good Job!

bbeast BRONZE said...
on Nov. 30 2010 at 10:35 am
bbeast BRONZE, Anaconda, Montana
2 articles 0 photos 31 comments

Favorite Quote:
“I learned this, at least, by my experiment; that if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.” ~Henry David Thoreau

This is a very beautiful and touching poem. Thank you for sharing!