Written by a Vietnam War Veteran, this poem examines who we are, what we carry, and what we owe each other. It’s a reflection born from lived experience and a lifetime of understanding the human condition.
We the People
We are people traveling together here on planet earth,
Living day by day, right or wrong, establishing our worth.
Our every reason for living is really quite the same,
Starting at who we were and ending at who we became.
We are the pen and the sword, both the warrior and the war,
Having faced our enemies and evened the score.
We are our fate and our destiny, the watch and the mainspring,
Having been fooled so often we don’t miss a thing.
We are the grape and the vine, both the vintage and the wine,
Having been here and there and on both sides of every line.
We are the stagnation and the change, both steadfast and rearranged,
Having been both the lover and the estranged.
We are the journey and the destination, both the particle and the wave,
Having been obedient, but also known to misbehave.
We are the macro and the micro, both large and small,
Having been so ignorant as to think we knew it all.
We are the anchor and the sail, both the loss and the prevail,
Having been a jack rabbit and slowed to the pace of a snail.
We are the whisper and the shout, both the bean and the sprout,
Having been certain and lost in the shadow of doubt.
We are the composer and the composition, as character and facade,
Having started out even but ending up odd.
We are the orchestra and orchestration, on both sides of the con,
Having castled the king but sacrificed the pawn.
We are the cancer and the cure, both childish and mature,
Having been both the quitter and known to endure.
We are the mortgage and the lender, both a champion and contender,
Having been the victim and the defender.
We are the teacher and the pupil, both the master and the slave,
Having been an offender and the one that forgave.
We are the body and the soul, both the heart and the mind,
Having been crude and improving into refined.
We are the hunter and the prey, both the sculptor and the clay,
Having had it all, just to give it all away.
We are the sinner and the salvation, both the tide and the shore,
Having been hated, becoming the one they adore.
We are the light and the shadow, both the answer and the question,
Having given hope to many and to some just a suggestion.
We are the jeweler and the gem, both the genius and the fool,
Having been both in judgment and the exception to the rule.
We are the alpha and the omega, both the author and the story,
Having been the disgrace and risen to our glory.
We are the yin and the yang, both the cause and the effect,
Having been all that there is, what more could we expect?
What I am trying to say or the intention to take away,
Is that together we stand but divided we fall.
We are the world and it’s up to us to keep evil at bay.
Big or small, short or tall, together we have the wherewithal.
Love, Light, & Liberty,
JimRaab
https://jimraab.wordpress.com/2026/10/02/we-the-people/
Published with the author’s permission.
James Raab served in multiple locations from 1967-1971.
James Raab, SP/4
Army Security Agency, 9/67 to 9/71
Ft Dix NJ, 9/67 to 11/67
Ft Devens Mass, 12/67 to 8/68
TRRS Petaluma Calif, 9/68 to 4/69
Ft Devens Mass, 5/69 to 10/69
138th AvnCo(RR) Vietnam, 11/69 to 11/70
509th Command Group, 224th Aviation Battalion
Fixed Wing, Beachcraft, Mos, 33-D-20, E 4
Saigon 11/69 to 1/70
DaNang 1/70 to 4/70
PhuBai 5/70 to 11/70
VHFS Warrenton, Virginia, 12/70 to 8/71
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