A Few Things They Say

They say

a man in war focuses,
or rather holds onto,
something from home,
something to look forward to – 
to return to – 
and he either does that 

OR

he submits to the notion
he’s not going home. 

They say

you haven’t flown first class
until you traveled in a body bag,
actually no one says that,
but consider 
you’d never be concerned
about flight delays, 
lack of leg room,
poor beverage service.

They say

we’re all quarterbacks
of our own life,
but surely they mean:
we’re quarterbacks running scared,
the naked bootleg,
no blockers, 
just big, angry linebackers
and it’s always fourth down.

They say