Poem: "Draft Dawgs"
May. 17th, 2022 04:31 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ysabetwordsmithThis poem came out of the March 1, 2022 Poetry Fishbowl. It was inspired by a prompt from readera. It also fills the "Wool" square in my 3-1-22 card for the National Crafting Month Bingo fest. This poem has been sponsored by Anthony Barrette. It belongs to the Arts and Crafts America series.
Warning: This poem contains intense and controversial topics. Highlight to read the more detailed warnings, some of which are spoilers. It features the Vietnam war, variously damaged veterans, obnoxious protesters, medicinal and recreational use of marijuana, and other challenges. If these are touchy topics for you, please consider your tastes and headspace before reading onward.
"Draft Dawgs"
[1960]
The veterans coming home
from Vietnam were damaged.
Some of them had lost limbs or
senses or other physical health.
Others looked fine on the outside
but had headaches, shakes, or
other problems from explosions.
Almost all of them had some sort
of post-Vietnam syndrome, which
had been called combat fatigue
and shell shock in earlier wars.
They had a hard time holding a job,
or a car, or a home. Some found it
difficult just to get out of bed.
While most of the protesters
were screaming at the veterans
over a war that certainly hadn't
been their idea, a handful of
hippies hit on a different way.
The folk band Peaceforge
consisted of five members.
Their lead singer Pax
was a slightly older man
who also played guitar.
Moon was a mellow girl
who played singing bowl,
thumb piano, tambourine,
and guitar. She was
also their female singer.
The other girl, Kittyhawk,
couldn't sing but played
harmonica, mouth harp,
pennywhistle, and jug.
Reef was a snarky man
who played bass guitar.
Heyduke was the youngest
of the men, a drummer also
skilled with bones and spoons.
It was Pax and Moon who
started up the idea of making
a sharehouse where veterans
could crash for a while until
they got back on their feet.
Kittyhawk got excited about it,
and Heyduke was into anything
that could piss off the squares.
Reef thought it was a dumb idea,
but as long as it put a roof over
his head without requiring
extra work from him, he was
willing to go along with it.
They pooled funds to buy
an old Arts and Crafts house.
It needed a lot of fixing up,
but Reef and Heyduke were
both capable at carpentry.
Pax was a tinker who could
fix just about anything.
Moon and Kittyhawk
were good at finding
and repairing furniture.
They also made curtains,
rag rugs, and cushions.
The main floor of the house
had a large living room and
a small kitchen, a dining room,
a laundry room with a sink,
and a common bathroom.
They turned the upstairs
into a little apartment with
a sitting room to the front,
a bunkroom on each side,
a kitchenette and a bathroom
overlooking the back yard.
Next they finished the downstairs
as another apartment so that
they would have somewhere
to put the veterans later.
It had a living room
by the stairs, a kitchen,
two bedrooms, and
a bathroom with both
a tub and a shower.
Reef got more inspired
when he hit on the idea of
putting a smoking room and
a grow room in the basement.
That turned out to be useful,
because weed helped veterans
get mellow, and not much else
did them any good at all.
The first two veterans who
moved into the house were
James Akers and Ron Arlington.
James had a leg brace until
he finished healing. He could
handle stairs fine, but he was
too shaky to get a job anywhere.
Ron was missing his right arm
and had lost his eyesight. Nobody
would even consider hiring him. He
collected records to console himself.
Then their friend David Lane came in,
who had hearing loss from an explosion.
Moon and Kittyhawk started teaching
them how to make things, because
crafts were groovy and soothing.
The guys actually turned out
to be good at knitting things.
So they made sausage dogs
to block the drafts under doors,
since none of the doors really
sealed even after repairs.
James, Ron, and David knew
what it was like to be homeless,
poor, and cold, so they didn't
want anyone else to suffer that.
It made them feel better to knit
the colorful draft blockers and
sell them or give them away.
They started calling the house
the Draft Dawgs Veteran Shelter,
and before long, the name stuck.
Two of their other friends,
though, were a lot less mobile.
Michael Morton was missing
his left leg, but somewhat
functional other than that.
Robert Ogden was not only
missing his left leg, he had
vision issues from the land mine.
He wore glasses, but still couldn't
read anything smaller than a sign.
So Peaceforge built an extension
onto the left side of the house
with a wheelchair ramp for access.
It had a tiny kitchenette, a living room,
and two bedrooms with a bathroom
between them that had a shower and
sink to accommodate wheelchairs.
Robert and Michael helped
figure out what to put where.
It wasn't perfect, but it was
less clunky than what they
found elsewhere, and at least
they could get into the place.
Their next contact was Biff Willis,
who moved into the basement and
shared a room with David Lane.
Biff's body was fine, but his mind
hadn't quite got the message that
he was no longer being tortured.
Biff had some friends from
his support group, but all four
of them used wheelchairs, and
four more people wouldn't
fit in the left extension.
Thus Peaceforge built
another extension onto
the back of the house, with
its own wheelchair ramp,
this time teaching the guys
some of the construction.
David was still decent at
building things, he just
needed written instructions.
James turned out to be
good with plumbing.
Biff huddled in the house,
knitting draft dawgs, and
nobody minded at all.
Moon and Kittyhawk
scrounged more furniture.
The back extension had
a kitchenette in one corner
and a living room in the other,
along with two small bedrooms.
They had learned a lot from
the previous bathroom, so
this one was a wet room with
a toilet, a sink, a showerhead,
and a central drain in the floor.
That left more room to maneuver
a wheelchair in the small space.
Soon the new extension was
ready for them to move in.
So Luther Brown and
Juan Martinez shared
one of the bedrooms.
Luther had lost both arms
and replaced them with hooks.
He still had his legs, but he
couldn't use them well. He
also couldn't push himself,
so he needed help moving.
Juan had lost both legs,
but was willing to help
Luther fetch and carry.
It made him feel useful.
Juan was a guitarist, and
he figured out that Luther
used to be a drummer.
So folks helped Luther
assemble a percussion set
that worked mostly with
foot pedals and things he
could hit with his hooks,
like cymbals and cowbells.
Ron got involved because
he loved music, and thought
he could be their manager.
Well, Peaceforge could use
one too, so that worked out.
The other bedroom went to
Jeff Rei and Chudley Deane,
also missing both their legs.
Jeff liked to grow plants,
weird little potted trees and
clusters of plump succulents.
Moon and Kittyhawk were
happy to help him fill all of
the bathrooms with plants.
They sat together and made
bohemian plant hangers. Ron
pitched in because he liked
the texture of the macramé.
Chudley was a photographer.
He shot candids and artistic nudes.
It helped get him out of his head,
which was still pretty much a hellhole.
They picked up a dog, Ginger, to go
with Kittyhawk's cat Tiger Eye.
The two got along surprisingly well,
and helped keep everyone mellow.
James and Michael did most of
the dog walking, and eventually
started hiring out to walk some
of the neighbors' dogs too.
It wasn't full-time work, but
it was work they could do.
Moon scavenged wool
from old sweaters and
the guys used that to knit
even more draft blockers.
They found new patterns
for cats and snakes
as well as dogs.
There was never
quite enough money
to go around for
buying new things,
but that was okay.
Nobody was on
the street, and they
knew how to reuse
whatever they found.
They had a home,
and friends, and plenty
of righteous good weed.
It would be all right eventually.
* * *
Notes:
This poem is long, so its character, setting, and content notes appear separately.
readera. It also fills the "Wool" square in my 3-1-22 card for the National Crafting Month Bingo fest. This poem has been sponsored by Anthony Barrette. It belongs to the Arts and Crafts America series.Warning: This poem contains intense and controversial topics. Highlight to read the more detailed warnings, some of which are spoilers. It features the Vietnam war, variously damaged veterans, obnoxious protesters, medicinal and recreational use of marijuana, and other challenges. If these are touchy topics for you, please consider your tastes and headspace before reading onward.
"Draft Dawgs"
[1960]
The veterans coming home
from Vietnam were damaged.
Some of them had lost limbs or
senses or other physical health.
Others looked fine on the outside
but had headaches, shakes, or
other problems from explosions.
Almost all of them had some sort
of post-Vietnam syndrome, which
had been called combat fatigue
and shell shock in earlier wars.
They had a hard time holding a job,
or a car, or a home. Some found it
difficult just to get out of bed.
While most of the protesters
were screaming at the veterans
over a war that certainly hadn't
been their idea, a handful of
hippies hit on a different way.
The folk band Peaceforge
consisted of five members.
Their lead singer Pax
was a slightly older man
who also played guitar.
Moon was a mellow girl
who played singing bowl,
thumb piano, tambourine,
and guitar. She was
also their female singer.
The other girl, Kittyhawk,
couldn't sing but played
harmonica, mouth harp,
pennywhistle, and jug.
Reef was a snarky man
who played bass guitar.
Heyduke was the youngest
of the men, a drummer also
skilled with bones and spoons.
It was Pax and Moon who
started up the idea of making
a sharehouse where veterans
could crash for a while until
they got back on their feet.
Kittyhawk got excited about it,
and Heyduke was into anything
that could piss off the squares.
Reef thought it was a dumb idea,
but as long as it put a roof over
his head without requiring
extra work from him, he was
willing to go along with it.
They pooled funds to buy
an old Arts and Crafts house.
It needed a lot of fixing up,
but Reef and Heyduke were
both capable at carpentry.
Pax was a tinker who could
fix just about anything.
Moon and Kittyhawk
were good at finding
and repairing furniture.
They also made curtains,
rag rugs, and cushions.
The main floor of the house
had a large living room and
a small kitchen, a dining room,
a laundry room with a sink,
and a common bathroom.
They turned the upstairs
into a little apartment with
a sitting room to the front,
a bunkroom on each side,
a kitchenette and a bathroom
overlooking the back yard.
Next they finished the downstairs
as another apartment so that
they would have somewhere
to put the veterans later.
It had a living room
by the stairs, a kitchen,
two bedrooms, and
a bathroom with both
a tub and a shower.
Reef got more inspired
when he hit on the idea of
putting a smoking room and
a grow room in the basement.
That turned out to be useful,
because weed helped veterans
get mellow, and not much else
did them any good at all.
The first two veterans who
moved into the house were
James Akers and Ron Arlington.
James had a leg brace until
he finished healing. He could
handle stairs fine, but he was
too shaky to get a job anywhere.
Ron was missing his right arm
and had lost his eyesight. Nobody
would even consider hiring him. He
collected records to console himself.
Then their friend David Lane came in,
who had hearing loss from an explosion.
Moon and Kittyhawk started teaching
them how to make things, because
crafts were groovy and soothing.
The guys actually turned out
to be good at knitting things.
So they made sausage dogs
to block the drafts under doors,
since none of the doors really
sealed even after repairs.
James, Ron, and David knew
what it was like to be homeless,
poor, and cold, so they didn't
want anyone else to suffer that.
It made them feel better to knit
the colorful draft blockers and
sell them or give them away.
They started calling the house
the Draft Dawgs Veteran Shelter,
and before long, the name stuck.
Two of their other friends,
though, were a lot less mobile.
Michael Morton was missing
his left leg, but somewhat
functional other than that.
Robert Ogden was not only
missing his left leg, he had
vision issues from the land mine.
He wore glasses, but still couldn't
read anything smaller than a sign.
So Peaceforge built an extension
onto the left side of the house
with a wheelchair ramp for access.
It had a tiny kitchenette, a living room,
and two bedrooms with a bathroom
between them that had a shower and
sink to accommodate wheelchairs.
Robert and Michael helped
figure out what to put where.
It wasn't perfect, but it was
less clunky than what they
found elsewhere, and at least
they could get into the place.
Their next contact was Biff Willis,
who moved into the basement and
shared a room with David Lane.
Biff's body was fine, but his mind
hadn't quite got the message that
he was no longer being tortured.
Biff had some friends from
his support group, but all four
of them used wheelchairs, and
four more people wouldn't
fit in the left extension.
Thus Peaceforge built
another extension onto
the back of the house, with
its own wheelchair ramp,
this time teaching the guys
some of the construction.
David was still decent at
building things, he just
needed written instructions.
James turned out to be
good with plumbing.
Biff huddled in the house,
knitting draft dawgs, and
nobody minded at all.
Moon and Kittyhawk
scrounged more furniture.
The back extension had
a kitchenette in one corner
and a living room in the other,
along with two small bedrooms.
They had learned a lot from
the previous bathroom, so
this one was a wet room with
a toilet, a sink, a showerhead,
and a central drain in the floor.
That left more room to maneuver
a wheelchair in the small space.
Soon the new extension was
ready for them to move in.
So Luther Brown and
Juan Martinez shared
one of the bedrooms.
Luther had lost both arms
and replaced them with hooks.
He still had his legs, but he
couldn't use them well. He
also couldn't push himself,
so he needed help moving.
Juan had lost both legs,
but was willing to help
Luther fetch and carry.
It made him feel useful.
Juan was a guitarist, and
he figured out that Luther
used to be a drummer.
So folks helped Luther
assemble a percussion set
that worked mostly with
foot pedals and things he
could hit with his hooks,
like cymbals and cowbells.
Ron got involved because
he loved music, and thought
he could be their manager.
Well, Peaceforge could use
one too, so that worked out.
The other bedroom went to
Jeff Rei and Chudley Deane,
also missing both their legs.
Jeff liked to grow plants,
weird little potted trees and
clusters of plump succulents.
Moon and Kittyhawk were
happy to help him fill all of
the bathrooms with plants.
They sat together and made
bohemian plant hangers. Ron
pitched in because he liked
the texture of the macramé.
Chudley was a photographer.
He shot candids and artistic nudes.
It helped get him out of his head,
which was still pretty much a hellhole.
They picked up a dog, Ginger, to go
with Kittyhawk's cat Tiger Eye.
The two got along surprisingly well,
and helped keep everyone mellow.
James and Michael did most of
the dog walking, and eventually
started hiring out to walk some
of the neighbors' dogs too.
It wasn't full-time work, but
it was work they could do.
Moon scavenged wool
from old sweaters and
the guys used that to knit
even more draft blockers.
They found new patterns
for cats and snakes
as well as dogs.
There was never
quite enough money
to go around for
buying new things,
but that was okay.
Nobody was on
the street, and they
knew how to reuse
whatever they found.
They had a home,
and friends, and plenty
of righteous good weed.
It would be all right eventually.
* * *
Notes:
This poem is long, so its character, setting, and content notes appear separately.
(no subject)
Date: 2022-05-18 12:30 am (UTC)Thank you!
Date: 2022-05-18 12:49 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2022-05-18 01:23 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2022-05-19 02:58 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2023-01-22 03:47 pm (UTC)