The Recruiter's Words

I sat there
At the restaurant counter
In amused attention,
Listening to two guys
Trading stories
About the lies
They were told
By the military recruiters
Years ago.
They weren’t angry or bitter,
Just kind of laughing
About the promises made
And their own gullibility
To such deception.
They actually believed
The stories they were told.
Both men had enlisted
To avoid the draft,
And to have
A semblance of choice
About their assignments.
The military recruiters,
Who had quotas to fill,
Promised them the moon,
Then sent them
Wherever they were needed,
Not where they wanted to go.
One guy’s recruiter
Had shown him
Pictures of heavy equipment,
And told him
That he would be trained
To operate those things
As a combat engineer,
A useful skill out in the world.
He did get to see combat,
But never got to run
Any of the equipment promised.
He was also told
That he had to
Leave in four days
Or he wouldn’t get time off
For Christmas.
He discovered afterwards
That recruits with as few
A three days in the service
Still got the holiday.
The other guy
Was interested in
Signing up for the Air Force,
But was told
That they were full
And didn’t need
Any more people.
When he didn’t buy that,
His recruiter,
A girl with an engaging smile,
Painted a vivid picture
Of the fringe benefits
Of being in the army,
Especially about the women
He would meet
And the travel he would do.
He thought about that a lot
Over there in Vietnam.
They had a laugh or two
About lies they were told
And the innocence
And naiveté of their youth.