The Romance of the Clean Marines - Poem

Literary Review, Summer, 2001 by Dc Berry

(March 1965)

   Marines unass the ship--
   their weapons oiled, their prayers stuttered--
   and assault Danang Beach ...

   Dippity-do'd
   jarheads wearing Old Spice
   and Colgated

   to meet their maker. But Vietnamese
   beauties greet them and grace
   their arrival with flower necklaces,

   leis made of red gladiolas
   and bright yellow dahlias.
   Each grunt has 600 bullets

   He's defending his chopped Chevy's fuzzy
   dice in Texas--the commies get their mitts
   on them, all his good luck will roll away.

   The flowers on the GIs' chests suggest
   weirdoland--they grow downward out
   of the steel pots. Now, that's a twist:

   helmets as flower pots.
   Now, that's horticulture
   doing yin yang--or what?

   But what's wrong: we got smiling babes in their
   party-pajama frocks ... is it Spring Break
   or not? We got GIs stepping on their peckers

   and eye-banging junior-missy cleavage.
   All this beach needs is a ukulele.
   The Perfume River has canoes for rent.

   Couples can paddle to Honeysuckle
   Heaven. This country smells
   better than a fat girl on a blind date.

DC Berry's most recent book of poetry is Divorce Boxing