Please click play to listen to me recite my poem
to the instrumental version of Jackson Browne’s “Song for Adam”
Hoyt
Back in the 60’s you loved music and sports, the young girls and having fun.
You never wanted to cross the sea, go sweat in the jungles, or kill anyone.
But times were different, and the hype was piped to your TV sets, 10 times a day
If you didn’t get involved and fight, it made no difference; you’d be drafted any way
otherwise it might be the end of life as you knew it, the end of the American way.
The poor and the aimless, the duped and confused the drop outs and the misled
Like cattle to slaughter they waited in recruiting lines, to shave their heads
Heroes were made from kids like you I suspect, you bought what they said
and you and him and your best friend signed up so you, could serve and protect,
Now there’s a million books to the contrary, siting on the shelves
But you were a good man and good men, don’t live just for themselves.
You saw death and the worst of humanity over there that you still dream about.
Some snipers who looked their victims in the face took their own lives when they got out
A lot of people died and some souls left their bodies while laying bleeding in your lap
You saw too much too soon and you prayed to be saved some day, go home and never come back.
Now there’s a million books saying how wrong that war was, just sitting there on the shelves
But you were a good man and good men, don’t live just for themselves.
Some veterans brought their wounds back home, lost their limbs and mind
But some, like you, did drugs to bury that horror that you couldn’t leave behind.
But you were lucky you had people who loved you and you learned how to run
Got off drugs, became a teacher, in the toughest barrios, ruled by knives and guns.
Like all teachers you put your life on the line, bad pay and lack of books on the shelves
But you were a good man and good men, don’t live just for themselves.
You married and made a life raised your kids and were well loved in every workplace
You were a marathon runner and for decades ran your heart out in each race.
You ate right, exercised, but in the end the Agent Orange you sprayed in Vietnam before
caught up with you and gave you cancer and you were told you had to battle a new kind of war.
Your family is so afraid to let you go, they beg you to accept the poison eating up your cells
You do your chemotherapy because you’re a good man, and good men don’t live just for themselves.
That Vietnam war didn’t take you in your youth but it’s trying to take you in the end
I know you dream, of unplugging yourself from catheters & needles and go on your own to transcend
and when you are ready, go out to the desert, to Joshua tree and pick your time to fly
Read some poetry, watch the vultures gracefully circling and riding currents in the sky
Close your eyes and say, “I am so grateful for it all, please take care of my children and my wife .”
Because this good man is ready to do this for himself, take one big breath… and walk to the afterlife.
Karima Hoisan
August 1, 2023
Costa Rica
*Footnote: This poem is written for and dedicated to my dear friend, Hoyt.
We met in the virtual (never in real life) almost 15 years ago
and among many other things, we share a love of poetry.
Today Hoyt is one of the most loyal and supportive friends I know in any life.
He never fails to read and catch up with what’s new on my blog and never fails
to make me laugh too:)
I treasure him.
Digital Rabbit Hole 
that is such a deeply moving poem🌹so beautifully done: love that repeating line about him being a good man & good men not living just for themselves🙏🏼❤️🙏🏼😘
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you so much for reading this one. It is a special one for me that I had no idea I would be writing. I am very happy Hoyt approved bringing it here to my blog. Big hugs Soulkin…you were there too in those turbulent Anti- War 60’s. Your comment means a lot to me.
LikeLiked by 1 person
🌳🌞🌳🌺🌹🌺❤️🙏🏼❤️
LikeLike
Beautiful and poignant and sad.
“good men don’t live just for themselves.” 😢
So we’ll expressed. May we have fewer wars, and more good people!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Amen Dale🙏 thank you for listening and leaving your beautiful comment.
LikeLike
Dearest Karima….I am so blessed to have you! I am rendered speechless by your words. I will say more later. As I said, I am left without words. You knew! You were there! I love you!
LikeLiked by 3 people
Hoyt wow…thank you for commenting on your poem. If you feel blessed to know me, well I know how blessed I am to have you in my life. To know you loved this poem, a very personal gesture written for you, and yet allowed me to share it with my friends and fellow writers on WordPress …is really Big!! it means so much to me. The trust we have had in each other just grows with each new experience. I love you too…yes let’s talk again soon.
LikeLiked by 2 people
I am crying now, not just for this one good man but for all of us. What a beautiful performance of a powerful poem. May you be blessed with peace and happiness always.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Oh Joey…thank you and yes, I understand, I had been waiting for him to get in touch with me, to give him this poem, and yesterday, when he did, and I said “Hoyt I wrote you a poem” I started crying..could hardly talk and he said, “You know I don’t think I have ever heard you cry” The subject is close to my heart in many ways. I was a serious activist against that war (All wars) at the time. Thank you for listening..I was once again so taken back when I saw the poem and the music ended right at the same moment. That was just a very lucky coincidence and a good sign too:)
LikeLiked by 2 people
A beautiful tribute to a beautiful tribute who put himself on the line, and continued to keep giving to this day!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes he did and so happy through the miracle of virtuality, you as well as I know him well….for years!!! Thank you so much for listening and commenting dear otter:)
LikeLike
I honestly thought I had it together, that I had curbed the tears that threatened me the first time I read this and so I could just listen before posting and be… I dunno, be just thoughtful instead of emotional perhaps. Obviously I was wrong, very wrong about how I would feel. So those tears that were banked gently roll down my face now and though the words describe a situation that is so sad for a person whom I’m fond of because he is a part of your life – my heart embraces the special bond and the bravery you both chose to express in sharing this very intimate personal story. I am forever touched by the words, both spoken and written, that memorialize a past blended into the present in the most respectful way. Your depth of compassion, my dearest beloved Sissy, is truly endless and a very special Gift. I am always grateful for knowing and loving You. Hoyt is in my prayers.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oh Diz, I have just gone through a world-wind of emotions with you this morning… laughter, tears and now more tears. Thank you for expressing yourself so honestly, so beautifully and I cherish your words Sis because you have been in my virtual life almost 16 years and what we have had and have all these years is as real, as real can be..A true connection of two soul-sisters, never meeting in the flesh..but really, the flesh is pretty overrated and I’m sure in the next stage we will exist well without it.. I love you and I too am ever grateful, a young friendly “impostor” rode me on horseback to your front door:):) The rest is our wonderful history as we continue to be witnesses to our real and virtual lives for each other. Thank you for your wise and loving comment..You have always been that special sage in my life who sees clearly..even in the murky waters. Thank you Sis…❤️🌹🙏🤗
LikeLike
Well spoken!!!…; -)
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you so much for leaving this positive comment, Liam. Welcome to my blog:)
LikeLiked by 1 person
De nada…; -)
LikeLiked by 1 person
Let’s see if I can put this right. You, Karima, are the most visual and auditory focused person I have ever known. You collect, and store everything. Then sort it out and turn it in to magic words, songs and pictures to share with the world. Your influence is so far reaching. You have lived and continue to live the most dynamic of lives. You are unparalleled. I am in awe. And as I have always asked, “How did you get like this?” Here is a song/poem that you could have written and perhaps did. Whenever I hear it, I think of you, Thank you from all of us!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Wow Hoyt! This wordy poet, just feels like she had the wind knocked out of her…and like you earlier, rendered her wordless. How you see me!! Well I love how you see me, over all these years, and inshAllah, I live up to your image of me always. You are my very best mirror, my dear friend, and when I look into your eyes, your thoughts, I see a pretty cool woman looking back at me. Thank you for these years of friendship and inshAllah. many years more. I will never forget our talks in Second Life. You let me know you even in some of your most vulnerable moments. Our friendship is forever…and PS..thank you for the Phil Ochs song (ojalá I would have written it) but I like your version on YouTube even better. Thank you for writing me 1st so many years back…at a dance, where I was not even dancing with you:) Such good fate..as it has turned out to be:) I love you Hoyt. ❤️🦋❤️
LikeLike
Over 20 years ago I was watching a football game on television with a Vietnam veteran. When the game had finished he suddenly started to talk of his experiences there> I realized was listening to an account that had been bottled up for years and suddenly it was all coming out and I was completely unprepared. I just sat and listened for almost an hour. Afterwards, he never spoke of it again and I am unsure to this day why he suddenly decided to tell me about it.
Thank you for this poem. Many today have no real idea what it is likely to experience conflict on the front line. I struggle now to understand the whole situation in Ukraine.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you so much David for sharing this moment with me and my readers. I think you must have made your friend feel safe enough, to unburden himself a little. Usually this is easier when other vets from the same war, decide to talk..because they all Really know what they are talking about. Hoyt could only tell me some stories from that horrible war..and many others he could not and could not even think about them…I don’t think any of us who weren’t there, can truly grasp that horror…If you saw “Apocalypse Now” you might remember Marlon Brando repeating that phrase..”The horror”. Ukraine is another victim in an awful war…I too struggle to even envision their destroyed country and lives of the people. My grandparents on my father’s side (Leviash) were born in Odessa.
LikeLike
Always good to hear your voice my dear friend. I joined the Army while Vietnam war was active. A difference world dear Karima. Thank you for sharing the story of a man, who went to hell and back.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you so much for your words John..and I know you were a soldier for many years of your life. Thank you for your knowing words about Hoyt “a man, who went to hell and back.” and now thanks to Agent Orange is battling pancreatic cancer. It was a different world then..yes.
LikeLike
Beautiful tribute to your friend Karima 🙏.💖🙏
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you so much Maggie. I am glad he told me to post it.. and very glad that you enjoyed hearing it.🙏🌹
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you for sharing 🌈💖
LikeLiked by 1 person
Beautiful and sad. I never understood as a teen what Vietnam was about, but I remember that we staged a sit-in protest at school even though none of us understood it. My brother-in-law was exposed to Agent Orange and refused to have children because of it. He ended up with a lot of health issues, but he’s hanging in there. He seems like a very strong person with a strong will to live, in spite of everything. Thanks for sharing, Karima! Living in California during that time was a memorable experience.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you Dawn for your own memories and experiences with this time. Yes living in Los Angeles was right in the heart of one of the biggest centers of Anti War movement.when I did not give my real age to anyone in Second Life, I always said my “mother “ was the activist. Hoyt used to say, I woulf have loved to meet your mother back then, but she might hsve hated me as I enlisted. I said “No, she wouldnt have hated you, she would have understood you were young and believed you were doing right “ now thst he knows we are the same age, he laughs about that 😀
LikeLiked by 1 person
That is funny, and thanks for your sensitivity and common sense. It was wrong to treat soldiers with contempt. Most of them had no choice.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I totally agree. I felt so much compassion for my generation, fresh from HighSchool and off to war:( Thank you Dawn..
LikeLiked by 1 person
Chills run through my cells and body reading about your friend Hoyt Karima. A good man and sooo soooo many victim to the war we never understood or never will. My blessings of love to end war but humans unfortunately can’t get it right. 💗💗💗💗
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oh Cindy thank you for listening to this one.. I know your life is so full and needs you, so I really appreciate you taking out this time. As I was saying to Dawn, so many guys I went to HS with in Milwaukee…were drafted because they went to work instead of the University (a privilege not everyone had in those days) So they were not deferred on a 1Y and they were swept up and sent off. Sighs. For me Hoyt’s comments here made me so glad I wrote this and then with his permission, posted it to my blog. Comments like yours, Cindy, mean so much. 🙏❤️🌹
LikeLike
Your voice and the echo effect give a perfect feel to your reflective journey. Very enjoyable.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you for listening Aoc and glad you thought the recording was effective and enjoyable. I am grateful for your comment.
LikeLike
What a beautiful tribute, dear Karima…”Good men don’t just live for themselves”…such deeply moving poem in your beautiful voice…you’re an amazing storyteller…I know I’ve told you this before…but I wanted to say it again…coz you took me / us to this place with your heartfelt lines & voice…a powerful poem…love the music as well ❤️
LikeLiked by 1 person
Wow Naveen…I never replied to your beautiful, sensitive comment. I am so sorry my friend for overlooking it. I did really want to tell Hoyt’s story so thank you my friend, for saying I told it well. That means a lot to me. Yes, I thought the music was really beautiful, and just happened to end at the exact end of my poem…:) Thank you for commenting dear Naveen… 🙏❤️🙏
LikeLiked by 1 person
Please don’t worry at all…you did read my comment & that’s what it matters to me…you told this story so beautifully & gracefully…it’s my pleasure listening to your spoken word 🙏💫❤️
LikeLike
What a fantastic piece of writing. It sounds like the rhythm is perfect. I love the way you approach this piece and also how you went about telling the story, that story that no one wants to talk about. Your repeated line was terrific and added to the power of the poem. I also like the way he was on his way to the Joshua tree. Agent Orange is hideous, and I am so glad you reminded everyone about the Vietnam War. You reminded us that the powers-to-be – should do their homework before you go into another horrid war. Just so beautiful – of course, your narration, music, and the lovely lines you wrote were so true, and many “Good Men died for no reason particularly. It sounds like this was a dear friend. Sorry you had to see that. Nicely done Karima. Blessings and love, Joni
LikeLiked by 1 person
Wow Joni! I never relied to your sensitive comment. I am so sorry my friend, Alhamdulillah Hoyt is still with us and I pray he stays that way for a long time.. Big hugs,,,I’m working on your recording., Much love and hope you are feeling better…Karima ❤️🤗🌹
LikeLike
Tip of my hat to you both!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Ohhh Thank you Jer… that means a lot
LikeLike