Teaching English On Camp Lejune

By Colin D. Halloran

Part I: I Watch my Students Prepare for War

They say it’s so boring.
Not my class, they’re quick to correct,
but this, life on base,
is not what they signed up for.

They want the thrill,
the rush
the chance to be a hero.

And all I want to do
is tell them no.
No they don’t.

That stateside life,
even Freshmen Comp,
is better than being shot at.

But it’s not my place.
I’m here to teach argument,
not make one.

I’m here to make sure
that when they come home—
if they come home—
there’s a future for them outside the Corps
or promotion if they stay in.

So turn to page 214 in your textbook
and don’t be so quick to turn
the pages of life.

Part II: I Watch my Students Come Home from War

He shows up to every class,
but doesn’t complete a single assignment.
And I understand.
Because I remember the anger, the apathy, 
the I can place three bullets center mass
why should I care where I place this semi-colon.
The grammar of war is life and death
this MLA format means nothing.
He’s thinking about combat
not clauses. And besides,
the VA still pays if you fail a class once,
so why pay attention this time around?

It’s only been 10 years since I went
too quickly
from combat to college.
And I remember.

But I also remember
those few professors who tried
to give me extensions
to coax the best out of me
to understand this impossibility

And I try to give my students
what I needed.

****

Colin D. Halloran served in Afghanistan with the US Army and is the author of three collections of poetry: Shortly Thereafter, Icarian Flux, and American Etiquette.  He holds an MFA from Fairfield University and is currently a PhD candidate at Old Dominion University. His dissertation, The War Poetry Map Project, is a digital humanities project that engages with 20th and 21st century warfare through poetry and cartography. He can be found online at www.colindhalloran.com and on socials @poetinpinkshoes.