It is hard to walk into the VA.
President’s face, larger than life and the
VA secretaries smiling blandly.
The American flag proudly centered.
A wall full of pamphlets from every group.
Smiling joyful face at the desk, a new
one, again, (one face lasted a year). “Last
four please,” I rattled off my social as
she keyed it in. “Oh yes sir, your appoint-
ment is in twenty minutes.” So I sit.
The older veterans all stare and smile.
Avoiding eye contact, so as not to
try to talk lightly about Iraq or hear
“thank you for your service”, again. Like we
ever want to be thanked for what we did.
The things we did over there break us, each
deal with it in our own way. Being
thanked brings the wars rushing back. Humpty
Dumpty can’t be put back together again.
But I can keep faith and tell the story.
Amongst this, as Odysseus faced
trials coming home, so must we anew.
Some never finish the trip, it’s too far.
So I continue on, for them, and
take up this ink pen to blind the cyclops.
Eric Wasileski (M.Div) is a GCC alum, Class of ‘01, and a veteran. He works as a hobby minister in mainly UU and Quaker settings. He is also dedicated to the plight of veterans and works with several veteran organizations, including Veterans for Peace, Warrior Writers, VFW, and DAV.