Surprising God, how does one surprise God?

I have heard the door or gate is not locked; it is always open.

Every day I think of Mike, he told me about the river boat he was on,

the murky river water, many small boats alongside, action all around.

He was a sailor on a ship, what the hell was he doing on a river boat,

he often asked, even now.

Can’t remember the name of the river, but it was Nam…

You come home from war… You are different now.

No one seems to know that “but glad your back bro,” they say.

Yes, you are home, but then there is the addiction, not of killing but of forgetting.

The time comes to report, remembering one’s service,

out in the woods, away from it all.

There is that standing at attention, hair and beard trimmed, at muster for the last time… There was a strange silence afterwards,

How does one surprise God?

I have heard the door or gate is not locked; it is always open.

Bob Hanson, author name used: Bob koshin Hanson!

A retired clergy, Lutheran, US Navy Veteran, serving as a reservist from 1967 to 1976. Was Chaplain to the Fox Company, a US Marine Reserve unit here in Milwaukee. He also served for a short time at the Great Lakes Naval Training Center. He has been writing poetry seriously since his first retirement in 2007 and has been a facilitator with Warrior Writers since 2019, with a Zoom workshop on the first and third Fridays of every month at 1130-1330 CDT. Please join us!

I am married and have a wonderful, blended family, five adult children, twelve grandchildren, and two great-granddaughters. I am an active member of Veterans for Peace, Chapter 102, in Milwaukee! I have self-published six books, most of which are on Kindle and Amazon.