Soldier's Final Oath Poem by Michael Pruchnicki

How could Frank Riley have foreseen
the consequences of taking an oath
that morning at the induction center

Like the other young men,
mostly teenagers,
he raised his right hand

High school dropout
he saw the oath as one way
to leave behind the grime
and grit of the hood

Peace rallies and young draft
evaders fleeing to Canada
were not options

Basic training and deployment
led to assignment as rifleman
in a forward battalion
near Khe Sahn
where he died
on a patrol
third day in-country

Sometimes it's just routine
another sacrifice
that the machine
requires
to function