A poetic take on my transition from Infantry Marine, to humble homesteader.
I traded my bullets for seeds,
my rifle for a hoe
machine gun knowledge for garden lore.
I work the land like our ancestors once did,
like others that still do
toiling under the sun.
I traded my war face for something more sublime,
for a sense of peace, a sense of calm
a sense of certainty in an uncertain world.
I tossed out my combat boots for bare feet,
so I can always feel the dirt beneath me
the life-giving earth squeezing between my toes.
I turned in my plate carrier and Kevlar helmet--my cammies too,
for overalls that hug my body
for a wide brimmed hat with a stitched-on patch of Bob Marley.
Instead of ducking and dodging whizzing bullets over my head,
I duck for curious hummingbirds
I dodge the gentle bees.
I traded in who I had to be once upon a time,
rough, gruff… detached
because the land knows, it grows, it’s an extension of me.
Yes, I traded it all in... and I’d do it all over again.
Image Credit : 1
All other images are mine, taken with an HTC One and Samsung Galaxy S7.