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A.D. WINANS
Panama memories the young Panamanian girl sitting alongside her sister in slip and bare feet reading a comic book and chewing on bubble gum at a brothel called the Teenage Club waiting for the first GI's to arrive six girls lined-up like bowling pins rooted to their chairs with zombie like stares doing a woman's thing inside a child's body Panama one Shipped off to Panama Part of the 57th Support Squadron We underwent Marine training In Air Base Defense And it was Lackland Air Force Base All over again Except the instructors Were twice as bad Or thought they were One stepped over the line Drove this kid half mad Had him confined to the Brig where real Marines would make a man Out of him A short time later After he was released He spoke not a word unless Spoken too The day we received our assignments He was still making up For lost time Time that was running out on him Then one day he just disappeared Rumor coming down that they found him Slumped over on his bunk Wearing his helmet With his rifle by his side A bullet where his heart once Was Panama V 1955, the President of Panama Gunned down at the Race track For building schools and roads And thinking of the people Special forces manhandling civilians Looking for a phantom assassin Two hours into forced insanity I sneak off to the Amigo Bar Light up a joint and sit in silence Trying to shut out the madness Building up in the streets outside Half the army looking for an assassin The other half too stoned to care The sweet smell of Mary Jane Floats through the air Filling the bar As I put on the safety And lay my rifle to one side Smiling at the young bar girl On the other side of the bar Not knowing whether She would like to make love to me Or put a bullet in my head A. D. Winans is a native San Francisco poet and graduate of San Francisco State University. He returned from Panama in 1958 to participate in the North Beach Beat literary movement. He edited and published Second Coming for seventeen years. He is the author of over 40 chapbooks and books of poetry and prose. His work has appeared internationally and has been translated into eight languages. He took an early retirement in 1995 from the U.S. Department of Education, where he worked in the Civil Rights Division, investigating cases of discrimination against minorities, women and the disabled. A book of his Selected Poems will be published this year by Feel Free Press in England. |
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