this Memorial Day

i'd been thinking, the Memorial Day theme running loose in my head, and despite some setbacks in the past two years beyond my control, i'm pretty goddamn happy to be alive.
some aches, pains.
but i got my face.
i've got my arms.
and legs.
most everything works pretty damn well.
the past held hairy situations to be sure.
knew a few Jarheads who didn't make it back.
some good family men.
a Major.
kind of guy who'd befriend a lowly Corporal, despite being three steps from General. a tough man. a smart man. real warrior poet-type. he was killed a month after i left Fallujah. and i can still remember him cheering my slow ass on the final stretch of our 3-mile runs.
Major Sharp. Killed in Action. a few kids and a wife.
anyways, the sun was warm and the water real beautiful-like down near Japs Cove this Memorial Day.
it felt good against my closed eyes.