This poem was a letter I wrote to myself the day I left my home in Detroit as an 18 year old kid to go into the Marines. The date is January 22 1991, 4:19 am.
The battles of all mankind must you fare, you must be able to breath when there is no air. To fight the mighty Hellions, or Valkries from the sky, or Amazons from Paradise, and never die. To rise against the Titans or unite against the Beast, to scale Mount Olympus, this is to say the least. The battle of might must you endure, your Honor clean, soul so pure, and all the demons from Hell will you have seen...
This is what you must face to be a United States Marine.
Copyright Jeffry Scott Hansen 1991
First published to the world wide web on Authors Den 10-17-2009.
Raised on Black and White TV is Carol Denise Mitchell’s intimate, unflinching memoir of growing up in a world where television became both a refuge and a mirror. Through the glow of classic black‑and‑white programs, she learned about fami
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