Welcome statement


Parting Words from Moristotle (07/31/2023)
tells how to access our archives
of art, poems, stories, serials, travelogues,
essays, reviews, interviews, correspondence….

Thursday, September 17, 2020

The Parting (a poem)

By Shirley Skufca Hickman

He hands me a form stating:
Permission to withdraw from English 1-A.
His hands are shaking,
and he tries to make a joke.
“I got caught in a draft.”

I don’t want to sign the form
and send him off to war,
but I have no other choice. 
It’s department policy.

That night I dream of coffins
draped in American flags
for those who have withdrawn.


Copyright © 2020 by Shirley Skufca Hickman

1 comment:

  1. “It’s department policy”...a hard yoke to wear. Thank you for offering this testament of love to the draftees obliged to go and possibly die for their country.

    ReplyDelete