Post Deployment Health Assessment

By Aramis Calderon

Questions on clip boards,
We brought our own black pens.

The head doctor went down a checklist
Like a preflight inspection.

Did you see dead bodies?
Did you feel afraid for your life?
Are you OK?

We always cleared.
We always lied.

Then the war dragged on.

Questions now on computers,
A good Marine still carried a black pen.

The head doctor didn't bother asking.
They knew
Our answers by heart.

****

Aramis Calderon is a Marine veteran with a pen. He holds an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Tampa. His current area of operations is Tampa Bay area, Florida where every week he meets with fellow veteran writers in the DD-214 Writers' Workshop. Dismount is his debut novel.