Im drunk and I wrote a poem. Just remember even Hawkeye would agree that martinis are only good when they’re as dry as Gods tears.
My father loved watching M*A*S*H
As a child I’d catch him watching it in our living room
long after I was supposed to go to bed
He and Hawkeye would have a martini after
their long days of trying to save people
and my dad would watch stories that came out in
the 1970’s of his 20’s
about
the 1950’s of his childhood
and I’d watch him
watching Hawkeye in
the 2000’s of my childhood.
He’d share a drink
with a moral man disguised as a jester
sitting in the blue glow of the empty couch
laughing along with Radar and Hunnicut;
just another one of the guys
What did those martinis mean to him in
the 2000’s
when he used a glass fronted box
to share a drink with a man
and travel through time
to 30 years ago
to 50 years ago?
I’m no longer that kid
from 20 years ago
sneaking glimpses of the 4077th M*A*S*H
I too can share a drink with that man on screen
I too can travel through time like my father did
to 50 years ago
to 70 years ago
But I can only share a drink with
a man who looks like my father
down to the gray black hair
and bright blue eyes
I can only share a martini with the man
who shared my father’s sense of humor;
they liked both dry and with olives
Through a fictitious real war
I can imagine that
I’m spending time with my father
I can imagine that
I laugh at all the places my father does
20 years ago
50 years ago
70 years ago
I cry at all the places my father does
20 years ago
50 years ago
70 years ago
But 20 real years
separate me and Hawkeye from the real man
so obviously influenced by the hero on screen
from 20 years ago
from 50 years ago
from 70 years ago
Is my dad laughing now
with me and the man who looks
and acts
so much like him that I have to do
a double take
a triple take
at the screen and the mischievous smile
on Hawkeye's face?
It looks too much like my father’s;
there’s no real guessing where he got it from
But M*A*S*H only had
11 seasons
to impart humor and wisdom
11 seasons
to teach my father to be the kind of man
I could sit down and have a drink with
Turns out that
11 years of seasons
wasn't enough
No amount of time or time travel
to 20 years ago
to 50 years ago
to 70 years ago
could lead to me sharing a martini with anyone but an actor
in a 1970’s Hollywood backlot
of 1950’s Korea
acting like the kind of man
my father so obviously wanted to be
