This is my war movie.

There’s no famed actors on set

and the lighting is never right

just a bunch of boys

turned to men

learning how to fight.

 We’ve changed directors a dozen times

blurred the lines of our crimes

with foreign extras filling faded chalk outlines

We went off script and flipped

from compassionate protagonist

to ravenous antagonist

Hearts and minds and ticket sales

scarred old bodies telling tales

of honor, virtue, filling seats

making fortunes for Hollywood Washington elites

17 years, no end in sight

to the longest war movie

we never quite got right

Leo Jenkins

With a Pen
(Forthcoming poetry book)

Enlist in the #UnarmedForces today.