I Tried Like Hell Poem by Kyle Schlicher

sunrise came
that morning
we
lost 8 guys.

and so
we were
sorta sitting around
saying
and
doing
nothing
when i noticed
i had blood
on my boots.

and so
i tried
rubbing
it off
but
it wouldn't
come off that easy.

my boots
were
almost a year old
and
worn
to the point
of being
almost
white
instead of black & green.

still
i tried
rubbing them
to remove the blood.
and
the blood
still
wouldn't come off.

and so
i tried
and
i tried
and again
i tried.

but,
still the blood
would not come off.

and so
i tried
and
i tried
and
i kept on
trying.

(3-17-1970)