Skip to content
Military Experience & the Arts
Menu
  • About Us
    • Who We Are
    • Staff
    • Friends
    • Contact Us
  • Publications
    • As You Were
      • Volume 23
      • Volume 22
      • Volume 21
      • Volume 20
      • Volume 19
      • Volume 18
      • Volume 17
      • Volume 16
      • Volume 15
      • Volume 14
      • Volume 13
      • Volume 12
      • Volume 11
      • Volume 10
      • Volume 9
      • Volume 8
      • Volume 7
      • Volume 6
      • Volume 5
      • Volume 4
      • Volume 3
      • Volume 2
      • Volume 1
    • Blue Nostalgia
      • Volume 4
      • Volume 3
      • Volume 2
      • Volume 1
    • Blue Falcon Review
      • Volume 2
      • Volume 1
    • Blue Streak
      • Volume 2
      • Volume 1
    • The Journal of Military Experience
      • Volume 3
      • Volume 2
      • Volume 1
    • Virtual Art Gallery
    • Copyright and Privacy
  • Submissions
  • Ways to Help
    • Writing and Art Resources
    • MEA’s Guide to Short Fiction and Nonfiction
Menu

“2nd platoon haiku”

–

by Michael Nappi

–

1.
JP-8 burns clear
releasing smells into night:
trash tires plastic shit

2.
bullet hole appears
dangerously near tan boot
Negligent Discharge

3.
Crown Royal handle
peeks out a clean assault pack
facta non verba

4.
the regulations
prohibit mirror lenses—
take them off, Nappi

5.
I’ve spent too much time
and I’ve lost too many friends
to not win this war

6.
quick mouth, small stature;
knocked-down, choked-out, beaten-up—
still smarter than you

7.
stealing from hajis
makes bad juju—then again,
so does making bombs

8.
the lifted truck roars
Newport smoke rises slowly
blood covers hard hands

9.
ruins by the river
crumble into dark Tigris
under blue moonlight

10.
Black Hawks land quickly
heavy air turns to wild wind;
sandstorm advances

–

–

–

–

–

 

Who We Are

Military Experience and the Arts, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization whose primary mission is to work with veterans and their families to publish short stories, essays, poems, and artwork in our biannual publication, As You Were: The Military Review, periodic editions of Blue Nostalgia: The Journal of Post-Traumatic Growth and others. To the best of our ability, we pair each author or poet that submits work to us with a mentor to work one-on-one to polish their work or learn new skills and techniques.

Our staff is based all over the country and includes college professors, professional authors, veterans’ advocates, and clinicians. As such, most of our services are provided through email and online writing workshops.

All editing, consultations, and workshops are free of charge. Veterans and their families pay nothing for our services, and they never will.

Under our Publications tab, there are more than two dozen volumes of creative work crafted by veterans and their family members as well as a virtual art gallery. Our blog posts feature short pieces that cover a wide range of opinion editorials, literary reviews, and profiles on veteran artists and writers.

Please consider spending some time navigating our site and reading and seeing the fine work of veterans and their families from around the globe.

Subscribe to Announcements via Email

Enter your email to receive notifications of any announcements

Subscribe to announcements via Email

Enter your email to receive notifications of any announcements

© 2026 Military Experience & the Arts | Powered by Minimalist Blog WordPress Theme