Victor Henry

South of Oaxaca
                        “We can’t make it here anymore”
                                                   James McMurtry

South of Oaxaca
Near Puerto Escondido
Vince’s uncle, a Vietnam veteran, 
Offers his Mexican villa
For soul repair. 

After waiting for over a year
He finally gets his VA disability check.
Packs up his old van.
Fixes a bagged lunch for his two kids.
Heads for Oregon instead

Where he can afford
A three bedroom apartment.
His ex-wife in California
leaves him hung out to dry
like the prevailing drought.

He enrolls
At Oregon State University.
Sets his sights on a telecommunications degree.
Wants to write his war memoir,
Perhaps make a documentary film.

Discovers he’s been a fall guy, a fool, a patsy
In a colossal corporatist’s take over.
Regrets he’d enlisted
In Bush’s Iraq war.
Starts categorizing his notes

Into files of unspeakable truths.  

 

Victor Henry's work has appeared in various small press magazines, anthologies, and e-zines. Website: http://victor-henry.net/
Contact: victor_henry@sbcglobal.net