They
By Garland Davis

They tell me, “Welcome Home,” forty years late
They say, “Thank you for your service,” when it no longer matters,
They spat upon me and called me “Murderer,”
They blamed me for the war that I fought for their freedoms.
They expect forgiveness of their actions when I came home,

They don’t understand my pride in my service and my uniform.
They don’t understand why I didn’t desert to Canada,
They don’t understand why I won’t talk of the war,
They don’t understand me or my friends from the war,
They don’t understand,  they can never understand.

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A native of North Carolina, Garland Davis has lived in Hawaii since 1987. He always had a penchant for writing but did not seriously pursue it until recently. He is a graduate of Hawaii Pacific University, where he majored in Business Management. Garland is a thirty-year Navy retiree and service-connected Disabled Veteran.