Men In Action
A Review of TheThings They Carried by Tim O‘Brien

All around, thetrees bustle with laughter; teasing the American soldiers.
By and by,they try to get through the pain.
Curt Lemon sailed high to theheavens.
Did you hear them fight for you?
Emotional burdens hangin the air,
Forever they hold onto the hurt.
“Garden ofevil,” where they fought for us.
Halo of gold shines and wingsof silver dance with the wind over and on the dancinggirl.
In the midst of the fog,
Jimmy Cross still had the power tolove.
KIA; what they reported the most.
Letters gounanswered.
M-60, M-16, and M-79; all the standard killingmachines.
No rules to follow, just to do your job: kill.
Oh, TheThings They Carried! Weighing them down: emotional, physical,and mental.
Pow! Pow! Pow! Down the enemies fall.
Quirky teenagersturned into men in mere minutes.
Rat Kiley sang his jingle“Step out of line, hit a mine; follow the dink, you‘re inthe pink.”
Strunk died on a helicopter; left a good friendbehind: Jensen.
“Timmy, stop crying! It doesn‘t matterany more.” I am dead!
Until the war is over, their boots willbe forever muddy.
Vietnam is in the past, but the men who fought forus will be remembered always.
Weeping can be heard from thesoldiers, sorry for killing the innocent.
eXhausted soldiersare finally flown home,
Yearning for the comfort of the long, lostlove of family.
Zany stories are lost in the past; all that is leftis catching up!