Keesler Field, Mississippi
Air Force Basic Training
World War Two
Each and every 4: 30am
The barracks loud-speaker
Sadistically demanded
“You gotta get up”
And with added impertinence
“Rise and Shine”
Well
They made me
Get and rise up
But they couldn’t force me to
Shine
I wouldn’t shine
I didn’t shine
I refused to shine
I GLOWERED
Glowering
Each and every day
I became a masterful
Glower-er
I was a citizen
Free, at least, to
Glower
That’s the American way
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem