Daydream Vietnam

By Rodney Schmidt ~ September 2, 1969

Is it real? I ask myself…
While I stroll in Cam Ranh Bay.
It’s such a pretty place
But there are soldiers here.
The mountain is a splendid fantasy.
The Phantom’s roar streaks by.
Sand, just like home’s beaches…
Bared savagely by treacherous wire.
The people here are delightful
But wait till you turn your back.
But ever the smiling faces
Can but hide their fidgety tensioned terror!
Even the lowly, lazy lizard
Scampers off at a speck of dust.
The clear blue sky
Bearing down one hundred ten degrees
I simply must be dreaming…
Who fired that shot!