Ed Galing

NAVY BLUES

the one thing i
always hated about
standing inspection

when i was in the
navy

was the way we all
had to stand so
erect and immobile

in our dress blues while
the whole squadron stood
at attention in that
main hanger

not to say we didn’t
look good, the way
we were all lined up.

like a bunch of puppets
staring straight ahead,

resplendent in our shined
black shoes,

our neckerchiefs dangling
from our blue tops,

medals, (if any) in
perfect order, like
showing off to the
war lords, but sometimes
i just hated it

especially the cold in
the hanger, the vastness
of the place, the way the
pigeons up in the rafters
made their presence known,
and the admiral and his
entourage walked the line,

with critical eye and a
serious frown, while the
rest of cadre followed behind
as they went row by row
up and down
up and down
and the pigeons shit
down on all of us, from

time to time.

—from Rattle #18, Winter 2002