Talk to Tahan Jones on the Fictionville blog
I regret signing the contract to become a “jarhead.”
But I would not be the man that I am today,
A man standing outside of history
Watching events pass me by in rush hour traffic.
I regret refusing deployment orders
But I would not be the man that I am today,
A man who has not been soiled by imperial ambition
Who only refused to wash his hands in oil mixed in blood.
I regret protesting and fighting the brotherhood.
But I would not be the man that I am today,
Knowing résistance is futile against “human nature”
That assimilation into the lean mean killing machine was irreversible.
I must resist,
So I clinch my fist and swing at nothing.
I regret the rage that I felt when my eyes were open to the world
That they had been closed for so long.
But I would not be the man that I am today,
A man who needs a guide dog and cane to makes his way home.
A blind madmen ranting and raving to self in an empty room.
I say many things.
But I never regret one thing that made me human,
Or the longing for freedom that only comes from
Being free from regrets.