Rafferty's War Poem by Michael Pruchnicki

The war for Rafferty began the day
he was inducted into the Army.
A healthy young buck, full of piss
and vinegar that he didn't want
to waste in some peoples republic
in southeast Asia, he swore allegiance
under silent protest, determined
to wage guerilla war on the Army.

But the fickle finger of fate often
determines our ends.
PFC Rafferty was greased
on his first patrol outside the wire
with Sgt Dorfman's squad
just north of Khe Sahn.
Rafferty was offed but good,
lit up like a Xmas tree,
zapped while he was zipping up -
a fucking new guy and a casualty
on his first and last day in-country!
The platoon LT, twenty years old
and high on some good shit,
put PFC Rafferty in for the
Purple Order of Hurt!

Sometimes a guy just can't lose
for winning, you know?








our ends. PF\\