A SMALL PAIN IN MY CHEST

A SMALL PAIN IN MY CHEST

by Michael Mack

The soldier boy was sitting calmly underneath that tree.

As I approached it, I could see him beckoning to me.

The battle had been long and hard and lasted through the night

And scores of figures on the ground lay still by morning's light.

"I wonder if you'd help me, sir", he smiled as best he could.

"A sip of water on this morn would surely do me good.

We fought all day and fought all night with scarcely any rest -

A sip of water for I have a small pain in my chest."

As I looked at him, I could see the large stain on his shirt

All reddish-brown from his warm blood mixed in with Asian dirt.

"Not much", said he. "I count myself more lucky than the rest.

They're all gone while I just have a small pain in my chest."

"Must be fatigue", he weakly smiled. "I must be getting old.

I see the sun is shining bright and yet I'm feeling cold.

We climbed the hill, two hundred strong, but as we cleared the crest,

The night exploded and I felt this small pain in my chest."

"I looked around to get some aid - the only things I found

Were big, deep craters in the earth - bodies on the ground.

I kept on firing at them, sir. I tried to do my best,

But finally sat down with this small pain in my chest."

"I'm grateful, sir", he whispered, as I handed my canteen

And smiled a smile that was, I think, the brightest that I've seen.

"Seems silly that a man my size so full of vim and zest,

Could find himself defeated by a small pain in his chest."

"What would my wife be thinking of her man so strong and grown,

If she could see me sitting here, too weak to stand alone?

Could my mother have imagined, as she held me to her breast,

That I'd be sitting HERE one day with this pain in my chest?"

"Can it be getting dark so soon?" He winced up at the sun.

"It's growing dim and I thought that the day had just begun.

I think, before I travel on, I'll get a little rest ..........

And, quietly, the boy died from that small pain in his chest.

I don't recall what happened then. I think I must have cried;

I put my arms around him and I pulled him to my side

And, as I held him to me, I could feel our wounds were pressed

The large one in my heart against the small one in his chest.

N. B. This is my most favourite anti-war poem written by the American poet Michael Mack.

About the Poet:

Michael Mack is a renowned poet, playwright, and performer. His stint in the U.S. air force as an aircraft crew chief gave him a lot of fodder for his poetry. Mack tried his hands at a variety of factory and labor jobs before he resumed his education again at MIT and graduated from their Writing Program.
Mack’s poems and stories have been aired on the NPR and he has been published variously in myriad journals. He has been awarded the First Prize in the Writer’s Circle National Poetry competition and a fellowship in dramatic writing from the Massachusetts Cultural Council, twice in 2005 and 2013. This fellowship is esteemed as one of the most competitive and prestigious individual Arts grants.

Mack has also attained fame because of his performances. He has performed both in academic and consumer circles.

One of his most famous publications is his collection of poetry titled ‘BALLADEER – The Poetry of Michael Mack”.

About A Small pain in my Chest:

A Small pain in my Chest belongs to the tradition of anti-war poetry spear-headed by the likes of Wilfred Owen, Siegfried Sassoon, and Rupert Brooke. It has been written by the poet as a reaction to the Vietnam War. It is a relatively recent anti-war poem hence it is interesting to note how the poem still conforms to the traditions of anti-war poetry. This poem which narrates the last few moments of a dying soldier is a heart-rendering account of the battlefield travails of soldiers.

The poem’s claim to fame is that it had been read to an audience comprising of some five thousand people at the funeral of the first Blackhawk helicopter pilot. This poem is also recited during the meetings of Vietnam Veterans.

Courtesy: Google