My dad holding me up, on base, in 1977.
Paint over parchment paper
barely sticks
Crinkly crunchy ocean
Swishing like salty waves
Sewn to brown burlap sand
The parchment wooshes around
I proudly present my art
6th graders stare silently at my map
My Dad was first of the first battalion
At the Panama Canal
The kids stare more
Nobody chuckles or insults me
Cool.
Mother made me do this
presentation
She says I need to show Dad
I am proud of him
My Dad protected our President
Gerald R. Ford
She made me memorize
Dad’s job
He led his battalion
Through the jungle of Panama Canal
My Dad contracted a deadly virus
And can’t give blood
Dad said it’s from an ant bite
In the jungle
My Dad is my hero…
Mother made me
Say that too
Years later, Dad said
There was chemical warfare
Dad takes a blood test
Every year to see if he can donate
Nothing.
Dad’s blood is dangerous
It’s in his DNA
Dad says he’s proud of his sacrifice
He did it for his country
Dad says he would do anything
For his country
That they asked him to.