I am running fast in this scorched land,
Clasping the flight helmet on my head.
Spreading wings as two white arrows,
My F-41 is taking off;
Thunder rumbles, coming from aloft.
I can see the distant lands so blue,
I regret to change them fighting through.
Pity that you can’t see this bliss:
It is far to say at least,
And my Phantom rushes to the East.
Banking left, and vision gets so blurred.
I am now a butcher, not a bird.
Hands will track the gunsight steady,
And my rockets’ flight is deadly,
Yet another pass I can afford.
Through the skies there is a whitish line:
Now my Phantom’s altitude declines.
To be rescued by ejection,
Paracords create suspension,
With a sinking heart I stall and dive.
Just when I have landed cries were heard.
Viet Cong soldiers holler like a horde.
In the shrubs there is a movement,
And these Charlie2 come toward me,
I dropped down hard, praying to the Lord.
Once again, I walk the goddamned land,
Flying helmet's missing from my head.
And the soldiers with their rifles
Probe my back to move me faster,
Now my life is in dire straits instead.
I have asked the dude with yellow skin:
"What’s the pilot’s name that shot me clean?"
Pausing my interrogation,
He replied with hesitation:
“You were shot down by our Lee Xi Jing3.”
Hey, it’s just a lie you kick around.
In my helmet I have heard them sound:
“Kólya, bank, I now will gun 'em!”
Ványa, dive, and I will cover!”
No, a Russian ace had shot me down.
[bump]
Somewhere far my native Texas lies.
There my dad waits, there my mother cries.
I will never see their faces,
Since my Phantom burst to pieces,
In the clean and azure colored skies.
1. The McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II is a jet fighter-bomber which has seen a lot of action during the Vietnam War.2. Vietnam War military slang/dysphemism for Viet Cong (VC) soldiers, based on the phonetic spelling of "VC," which is "Victor Charlie."3. please see author's comments