Steve Howard
Nagoya, Japan

Service, No Thank You

It sits atop an old bookshelf in our office. Dad, I know you never wanted it. You said explicitly, "Don't need any damn flags or plaques after I go." Told me you served the country because you had to, not because you wanted to. But after the cremation, grandma went down to the local Veterans' Hall and paid the forty dollars for the folded flag and the small plaque for Vietnam veterans.

dark waves break
against a jetty
ashes drift into the sea