Thomas Thompson

Thomas Thompson Poems

June 25,2018

Conflict Within
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May 3,2013

Blackberry Sentinels
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April13,2019

Vietnam Memorial today
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The Mirror of Me (August 3,2019 - May 16,2021)

As I stood in front of a mirror
I see my son looking back
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Wednesday, May 21,2014

A Mother's Grief
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May 7,2012; Revised January 28,2018

The Inward Scream
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Friday, October 18,2013; revised October 23,2013

A Woodpecker Drumming
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2018 03 18 - A Whistle Cut Short

A Whistle Cut Short
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Dawn's Road

Surrounded by dense green this cool predawn morn
A slight mist in the air
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July 20,2013

Crystallized Shrapnel
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August 19 - September 17,2013

Blood and Cordite
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November 11,2012; revised August 5 - through September30,2013

Discovery
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June 3,2012, Revised April 30,2020

Windows
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June 25,2018

Conflict Within
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January,28 2013

The Tiger Cage
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This poem is from an incident that occurred in Saigon in 1966. It was painful to watch happening realtime and there was naught I, or the driver, could do to prevent it.

Yes, this incident still haunts me to this day even though I've tried everything to come to grips with what happened that sultry warm afternoon. I wrote a backstop to this poem that is far too long to accompany this poem. The backstop adds far more context to the why and how it happened, including the aftermath of hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of Vietnamese boiling out of their shanties, tin shacks, ramshackle huts with all sorts of weapons in their hands, sticks, butcher knives, anything the angry Vietnamese could pick up as they attacked our truck, and how fast everything happened in the aftermath of this tragic accident. If this Vietnamese military police would not have arrived when they did, I would not be here today to post this poem.
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September 10,2017 - June 17,2018

H&I* in My Mind (*Harassment & Interdiction: Artillery firing on known spots where VC would be passing through)
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Saturday, June 13,2015; Revised October 15,2015

The Second Chance Pin
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19.

November 27,2013

Sniper
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Illusion

The past a curse
If not released holds you back
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Thomas Thompson Biography

I've had to opportunity to live in Multiple countries (Taiwan, England (twice) , France, Germany (Bavaria and Berlin) , Thailand, Okinawa, France, and Viet Nam over the years. Living for extended periods in my travels over my life allowed me to observe how citizens of different cultures, their societies, history, and their worldviews different from my own culture. Living abroad allowed me a different perspective from my own experiences vis-vis to those who never traveled outside of their cultures. I've often thought if every citizen of every country had the opportunity to spend two to three years living abroad, would not these exposures allow the world, the environment, a better place to live for all citizens? Surely it would! Tommy)

The Best Poem Of Thomas Thompson

I Am A Viet Nam Veteran With Ptsd

June 25,2018

Conflict Within

Restless sleep, though a long sleep
Drifting dreams, wars, faceless men
Grey skies, no trees, White Roses, silent eyes and soundless screams

My mind cannot rest as I toss and turn
Whilst the second hand ticks relentlessly
Onward, Onward, Onward

A distant horizon of hope never reached as muck drags me down
No mercy, no end, no way out
Countless faces passing that never go away

An orange sky on fire
Burning smoke in my lungs, my eyes
No relief

Within a 3D hell
Horror everywhere I Look Sense, Touch, Feel
Within, Without

Acid rain burns my skin
As I stand forlorn within
The horror of empty landscapes

Peace unknown
Desperately needed
Serenity an eternity away

Death surrounds me
Without relief
No matter how I strive

Children's eyes empty
As they desperately hold out their hands in hopes
Of alms never offered

And slowly fade away
Leaving me alone disconsolate
Standing upon a desolate canvas

Devoid of color, of life itself
Peace an empty precept
Offering no solace, no hope

Only desperation in a harsh desperate world
Where life has no meaning
No comfort from memory's arms


Yet offers no end
As I cry a soundless cry
For a friend

Anyone to offer an hand
A way out of this merciless Hell
Yet, steadfastly refusing

Christ's offered hand as he smiles in anticipation
Suddenly confused
As I turn away

Leaving Him gazing upon a fractured world
Prayers frantically offered
With no hopes of relief

To a God whose empathy unknown
No understanding, no Soul
And I know instinctively

We are the change
As we each look away
From the Hell we've made

Smug in our satisfaction
As each thinks complacency
It is not my doing

As Humanity slowly slides inexorably
Towards a looming abyss
A chasm with no way out

Tommy

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