Song-a-ri is a little village
South Korea is its home
G.I. recreation center
frequent soldier host
built before any hooches
went there one day
to phone across the
big water to my girl
walking back to post
mama-san starts barking at me
about her cherry girl
twelve years old and
only five dollars can do
by the time I got past her
it dropped to no charge
a little further down
an area known as Turkey Row
worn out women leaning
against their doors yelling
blow jobs fifty cents can do
kept on going
hiked about five miles
past one rice paddy after another
smell of human waste in the air
but didn't notice
papa-san squatted down
in the only cabbage field
conical hat on his head
smoking a pipe with
opiated squinty face watching
headed back to Blue Lancer Valley
beautiful home to the
Second of the Thirty Eighth Infantry
passed through Nu-la-ri
where Freedom Bridge and
the Imjin River are
down the mile long road
to the compound
past a ditch full
of unused condoms
remnants of a briefing
in which we were told
that the only one in our unit
who could ride bareback
was the Indian Chief
on the Second Division patch.......