some came back

i remember when older kids
in the neighborhood got drafted
and went off into the army.
went overseas to germany, or viet
nam.
some died, some came back
with that stare in their eyes.
they left with long hair
and came back with crew cuts.
wearing green, with black boots.
we hardly recognized them.
their medals, their sewn on
patches. they showed us their
scars, the ones they could.
they were never the same.
these kids. these boys on skate
boards, bikes and hooligans
hanging at the bowling alley.
they came back no longer boys
in the neighborhood, but different.
they came back as men.