ISSN: 2331-5040 | Winter 2018
Introduction
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Launched in 2013, Blue Streak was the name of the original poetry journal published by Military Experience & the Arts. At the time, it joined the organization’s other annual publications, including the true-life trauma narratives of Blue Nostalgia—the name an historical reference to what is now called Post-Traumatic Stress—and a fiction showcase that was tongue-in-cheekily called The Blue Falcon Review.
Veterans of all eras and branches, no doubt, will get the latter joke.
Some of our “blues” went away in late 2014, however, when Military Experience & the Arts launched As You Were, a literary journal that consolidated offerings of short fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and visual arts, as generated by people who have had experiences with the military.
When 2017 poetry submissions exceeded our capacity to adequately honor and celebrate in the pages of As You Were the poets who had shared their words and works with us, we decided to bring back—at least temporarily—the Blue Streak nameplate out of cold storage. We don’t know whether or when it will ever be back—our regular poetry features will continue with the next issue of As You Were—but we had a lot of fun putting it together.
Best to think of The Blue Streak as a shooting star, then—a crack of light at mid-winter’s dawn—our bolt out of the blue.
— Randy Brown, poetry editor
February 2018
Table of Contents
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“Theme Song for a War” by Jonathan Tennis
“Brothers” by Jeffrey Brierton
“Ode to a Brother” by Yania Padilla Sierra
“The Love of Plastic” by Clark Morrow
“Guilt Returns” by James Hugo Rifenbark
“My Brother” by Aaron Berkowitz
“My View” by Jonathan Tennis
“Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” by Yakov Azriel
“Operation Desert Shield” by Yakov Azriel
“Blazin’ Guns” by Lance Garland
“Flying 63rd” by Carlos Reyes
“Anchor, Globe, and Eagle” by Devon Miller-Duggan
“Band of Brothers” by Steve Nolan
“Blue Shrapnel” Victoria Elizabeth Ruwi
“Primary” by Timothy Russow, Jr.
“Smoke ‘Em If You Got ‘Em” by Patrick Walsh
“Conversation on the Steps of the Reserve Unit” by Arthur Turfa
“That Was Close” by Ryan Stovall
“At the Beach in Inarajan” by Michael Topa
“Orange Poppies and Yellow Dandelions” by Jimmy Pappas
“When a Soldier Comes Home” by Sankara “Le Prince Héritier” Olama-Yai
“Untitled” by Gayle Schiller
“Kamikaze” by Seabass
“Shockwave” by Ken Williams
“Terra” by Deshaun Johnson
“Deathstalker” by Matthew Oudbier
“Noel Reeks of Bleach” by David R. Dixon
“The Ghosts of the Battlefield” by David Tanis
About the photo: Lightning strikes the water as San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock ship USS Anchorage (LPD 23) navigates between storms in the South China Sea, June 2015. As part of the Essex Amphibious Ready Group, the ship was operating in the 7th Fleet area of responsibility. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Liam Kennedy/Released Disclaimer: “The appearance of U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) visual information does not imply or constitute DOD endorsement.” Poetry Editor Randy Brown Associate Editors David Pointer Pamela Hart Cover Design by Melany Sarafis, Director of Art Copyright 2018, Military Experience and the Arts, Inc.