Another Dumb Grunt

What it's like to be called something because you're a US Marine.

Another Dumb Grunt

Another dumb grunt,
That’s what they call me.
They know nothing
Of the hell on earth I’ve bathed in,
Nor the emotional bridge I built,
To keep them free of tyranny.

Another dumb grunt,
It’s just a joke, they say,
They don’t live daily in hell,
Where people refuse to see
Demons that invade my life,
For their right to hurl insults.

Another dumb grunt,
Whose own government ignores.
Pay is refused for injuries received,
Medical care that’s second rate.
I am expendable to them
Living as just another number.

Another dumb grunt
Yep – that’s me.


Not About Me

This poem was not about me. This was written as a tribute to my husband, who served as a US Marine in Vietnam.