Woe Are You?

It was hardly war, the hardliest of wars. Hardly, hardly. It occurred to me that this

particular war was hardly war because of kids, more kids, those poor kids. The kids

were hungry until we GIs fed them. We dusted them with DDT. Hardly done. Reha-

bilitation of Korea, that is. It needs chemical fertilizer from the States, power to build

things like a country. In the end it was the hardliest of wars made up of bubble gum,

which GIs had to show those kids how to chew. In no circumstance whatever can

man be comfortable without art. They don’t want everlasting charity, and we are not

giving it to them. We are just lending them a hand until they can stand on their own

two feet. A novel idea. This is why it occurred to me that this particular war was

hardly war, the hardliest of wars.

My father was hardly himself during the war, then I was born during the era that

hardly existed, and, therefore, I hardly existed without DDT. Beauty is pleasure re-

garded as the quality of a thing. I prefer a paper closet with real paper dresses in

it. To be born hardly, hardly after the hardliest of wars, is a matter of debate. Still

going forward. We are, that is. Napalm again. This is THE BIG PICTURE. War and its

masses. War and its men. War and its machines. Together we form THE BIG PIC-

TURE. From Korea to Germany, from Alaska to Puerto Rico. All over the world, the

US Army is on the alert to defend our country, you the people, against aggression.

This is THE BIG PICTURE, an official television report to the nation from the army.

This is Korea! Is one thing better than another? These South Koreans are all right.

Woe is you, woe is war, hardly war, woe is me, woe are you? My father is still alive,

and this is how I came to prefer a paper closet with real paper dresses in it.

Well, it’s morning in Korea. The most violently mountainous place on Earth. Every-

one has been dusted, existence hardly done, whereas beauty has been regarded as

the quality of a thing. At Uncle Dann’s Huddle doughnuts and coffee are free and in

case there are any, for there are many, the unescorted ladies are not permitted. The

decision has been made in Tokyo for the hardliest of wars, an old soldier made it.

The situation in Korea is so critical that we the Navy must give the Eighth Army prac-

tical support. Do you remember how you began this day? How did you spend this

morning? Woe are you? Well, pinecones fall every day. So why do we fail? Miles and

miles of homeless refugees set adrift by the Red scourge.

Source: Hardly War (Wave Books, 2016)