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Restoring a Boot Camp Photograph c.1942,
Biloxi, Mississippi
By Jan La Roche
The soldiers stand tall,
on my computer screen
face the camera
in khaki uniforms,
pressed pants,
ties tucked into shirts.
Some men are gone,
torn from the group.
Some are missing noses,
eyes, stripes on their sleeves.
Their faded mouths
can’t tell me what happened,
but I hear their Thank q Ma’ams
in thick molasses drawls.
I feel each man’s gratitude
for bringing his buddy back together
when I move pixels,
add facial features,
brush some digital crew cuts.
I hear the Sergeant in the front row state:
We boiled in hellish foxholes in ’43;
accidental shots were fired,
enemy bombardment ensued.
Too many didn’t receive
perfumed letters,
hear their parents’ voices,
or hug their siblings again.
They have no grandchildren to hold
this black and white picture,
captured, before anyone fought.