"Listen Up, Maggots! It's #NationalPoetryMonth!"

Read & share & talk #warpoetry #poetry #haiku !

More background at #fobhaiku:
http://www.fobhaiku.com/2020/04/listen-up-maggots-it-national-poetry.html 0/n

Photos of USNS Comfort's & Mercy's arrivals in NYC and LA reminded me of this poem by Iraq War veteran Dr. @FrederickFoote. Foote served on Comfort, treating Iraqi patients. From his "Medic Against Bomb": https://amzn.to/2xEm51K  #NationalPoetryMonth #nurses #warpoetry 1/n

Like Foote, @TurnerBriturn3's "AB Negative (The Surgeon's Poem)" brings us past the caregivers' curtain—this time, into the liminal, haunting grace of an long-haul aeromedical evacuation flight. From his "Here, Bullet": https://amzn.to/3bLhUzK  #NationalPoetryMonth #warpoetry 2/n

This week's news re: #USSTheodoreRoosevelt (the president who gave us "The Man in the Arena" speech) reminds us how sailors' fates often seem to resonate with their ships' namesakes. From Jehanne Dubrow's "Dots & Dashes": https://amzn.to/2UFzq2X  #NationalPoetryMonth #warpoetry 3/n

A favorite #warpoetry prompt: "Write about an object that is somehow significant in your experiences with the military." What would *you* choose? From @poetinpinkshoes' "Shortly Thereafter": https://amzn.to/2xRWa6w  #NationalPoetryMonth 4/n

For a #NationalPoetryMonth-meets-Palm-Sunday "celebratory" vibe, #warpoetry from Tacoma, WA Poet Laureate & Army spouse #AbbyEMurray—the titular poem from her "Hail and Farewell," regarding a kind of military social ritual. https://www.perugiapress.com/wp/books/hail-and-farewell/ 5/n

"Is it alright to kill *now*?" Another example of funny #warpoetry for #NationalPoetryMonth—a series of absurdities observed downrange by Iraq War veteran & helicopter crew chief Paul Wasserman: From his "Say Again All": http://www.lulu.com/shop/paul-wasserman/say-again-all/paperback/product-15325502.html 6/n

. @LisaSticePoet's #warpoetry explores distances among mother + daughter & deployed father. She often quotes children's books ... and Sun Tzu! April is Month of the Military Child ( #momc) & #NationalPoetryMonth. From her "Permanent Change of Station": https://amzn.to/2qauVO8  7/n

I once managed a cinema in the sand. I dislike hearing destruction described as "just like in the movies." Yet I consume war films as comfort food. @dagray08's #warpoetry reminds me of my contradictions. From "Contested Terrain": https://amzn.to/2V5BW16  #NationalPoetryMonth 8/n

Any poem is an opportunity for empathy—an invitation to consider another's point-of-view. With each turn of the page, the #warpoetry of @PamelaHart5 maps to a new persona & perspective. From her "Mothers Over Nangarhar": https://amzn.to/2JQEUBJ  #NationalPoetryMonth 9/n

Maps & humor are both constants in the #warpoetry of Iraq War veteran Paul David Adkins. To this, add a dog & a helicopter. First printed in @RattleMag, and featured in the poet's collection "Operational Terms and Graphics": https://amzn.to/2RtIo0Z  #NationalPoetryMonth 10/n

U.S. Army veteran Karen Skolfield's modern #warpoetry deploys images (the sounds of bugs & bullets) familiar to service members of all eras, but also delivers a sting of gendered insight. From her "Battle Dress": https://amzn.to/3cbwiBw  #NationalPoetryMonth 11/n

Canadian veteran @benjaminhertwig served in Afghanistan. His Easter Sunday #warpoetry recalls the strangeness of "celebrating" a holiday while separated from loved ones. From his "Slow War": https://amzn.to/2V2MeAs  #NationalPoetryMonth 12/n

With references to ACME bombs and MRE candies, Iraq War veteran Jason Poudrier's #warpoetry uses modern metaphors to convey the timeless (endless?) absurdities of soldier life. From his "Red Fields": https://amzn.to/34vdzOK  #NationalPoetryMonth 13/n

Service members who engage in #warpoetry are likely book-lovers. In a great example of how prose-poems can illuminate fragments of story, OIF & OEF veteran Brock Jones tells of a cargo-pocket explosion. From his "Cenotaph": https://amzn.to/3a4BzJX  #NationalPoetryMonth 14/n

As an iconic vehicle of the Forever War—and as both metaphor and subject—the remotely piloted "drone" is omnipresent in 21st century #warpoetry. From Kim Garcia's poetry collection "Drone": https://amzn.to/2K46f3i  #NationalPoetryMonth 15/n

This example of @HughJMartin's #warpoetry hits a particular sweet spot for me: Midwestern voice, illuminating relatable experiences, while in dialogue with previous generations of soldier-poets. From his "In Country": https://amzn.to/3aeyl6o  #NationalPoetryMonth 16/n

#warpoetry by U.S. Army veteran Charity Tahmaseb @geekgirlx2 shares an intimate downrange moment. First printed in @SEMOPress's "Proud to Be" (Vol. 2) https://amzn.to/2z9bSuU , it was also featured in one of the author's YA novels: https://amzn.to/3erX76C  #NationalPoetryMonth 17/n

As we debate the utility vs. performance of haircuts, uniforms, and other military "must-haves," I reflect on the #warpoetry of former U.S. Army citizen-soldier (and Engineer!) @kerryjamesevans. From his collection "Bangalore": https://amzn.to/2VjLzeg  #NationalPoetryMonth 18/n

More modern #warpoetry, this time from Iraq War veteran Nicole S. Goodwin, who writes about hard times with New York grit and humanity. Here, she speaks as a U.S. soldier guarding Iraqi prisoners. From her collection "Warcries": https://amzn.to/34YFRBL  #NationalPoetryMonth 19/n

Can #warpoetry inspire hope? Resolve? Ostensibly, this is a death poem—an elegy. Pesonally, I find it comforting: Look for the helpers. Look to the skies. Don't tell us the odds. From @katebgaskin's forthcoming "Forever War": https://www.yesyesbooks.com/product-page/forever-war #NationalPoetryMonth 20/n

Separated by distances & the threat of disease, the ways we mourn & comfort & remember now seem changed/changing. A personal touchstone this week: #warpoetry from U.S. Marine & Army veteran @FlameSuzy. From "murmurs at the gate": https://amzn.to/3axc8B3  #NationalPoetryMonth 21/n

With people currently bubbled away from each other, revisiting this #warpoetry by U.S. Air Force veteran @ShmoF16 on interconnectedness (humans! machines! nature!) surprised me in new ways. From his "Hugging This Rock": https://amzn.to/3aoJ7XT  #NationalPoetryMonth 22/n