Joining The Military Is Not To Be

There's Something Immediate About The Experience Of Reading A Poem - Whether It's The Music Or Some Other Element Of It - That Just Seems To Access Another Part Of The Brain. You Know, Charles Olson Talks About This Transfer Of Energy That Happens Between The Writer And The Reader Of The Poem. I Guess There's Something Essential To Me About Acknowledging Upfront The Immensity Of It - The Difficulty Of It - And Even Allowing That To Be The Subject.

It's Not Just: You Get Off The Plane, You're Back Home, Everything's Fine. Maybe The Physical Danger Ends, But Soldiers Are Still Deeply At Risk Of Being Injured In A Different Way.

One Of The Things My Service In Iraq Did Give Me Was This Freedom From Fear Of Failure Or Any Kind Of Expectations That I Had To Take A Standard Path.

I Understand That It's Incredibly Difficult To Watch What's Happening On The News Every Day And Not Become Inured To It. I've Fallen Victim To That Myself, Wanting To Look Away.

I Understood That 'the Yellow Birds' Would Be A Peculiar Representation Of The Experience Of Being At War. I Intended It To Be So.