"Toy Story"

Another poem shared with the group...

"Toy Story"

By Anthony Ikehara



The commander established a new theater of combat
My treads creaked, my engine roared to life
I drove to and fro, surveying my new habitat
Optics out, I searched for any signs of strife
Yet all was quiet on this front
There was no enemy to hunt

The commander announced that he must leave
For all my life, I had followed the path he led
He must have seen my intention to grieve
Because he chuckled and with a wry grin said,
“I want you on this wall;”
“I need you on this wall.”

The commander had gone to be another’s pawn
With determined loyalty I manned my post
My turret followed stray cats upon the lawn
The dog barked at squirrels on the coast
Though our days perhaps were numbered,
The civilians’ sleep was unencumbered.

The commander’s absence stretched to years
Yet I sat, the stoic still silent sentinel
As children frolicked, free from fears
And parents watching, wishing then well
Through summer’s sun and winter’s chill
I rolled on, through the force of will.

The commander returned to me one day
I could sense a difference in his face
With a rueful smile, new orders did he relay
He did not say much about that place
“We are the survivors,” he said
“We are the ones who remember the dead.”

The commander pondered in melancholy
And my thoughts turned to my former friends
Brothers in arms, in battle and folly
But they always returned from those bitter ends
Didn’t they?
What other price was there to pay?

Yet here I was, so alone, so weary
Sole survivor of an army that once spread
Along rolling carpets and glistening linoleum
From the sideboard heater to the foot of the bed
Many a G.I. Joe had lost a limb
Would anyone remember them?

I recalled promises of quality concern
But rumors persisted that the cruel administrator
Sent them to the can of no return
No longer to serve another tour
The commander complained
As less of his soldiers remained

The commander’s words cut through the rain
Words that inspired my quiet reverie
Secret tears help determine that through the pain
The two of us would keep the memory
Of those that had gone before
Of those with us no more


Copyright © 2015 by Anthony Kelly Ikehara 

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