Thom Young

WAR

daughters
to war
left right left
equal pay
equals equal death
some went for glory
some went for pride
but all went for something
a beautiful lie
you're all welcome
the sandbox
is open
while the
war drums beat
left right left


Gerald So reads "War":



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Thom confesses: "I saw a feature on women in combat and the discussion of reinstating the draft. It seemed like an interesting topic to try and write a poem about, so I ran with it and like most of my poems I wrote it off the top of my head. I liked the idea of using imagery and picking a side on the issue but also letting the reader decide for themselves. I used some repetition with a 'military cadence' to add that kind of visual imagery and think it came together pretty good."

THOM YOUNG is a writer from Texas. His work has been in Poetry Quarterly, The Commonline Journal, 3am magazine, Crack the Spine, Word Riot, 48th Street Press, and many other places. He was a 2016 Pushcart Prize Nominee.