From Machinegun Marine to Grateful Gardner

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.