Toralf Cod

A WALK IN THE PARK

“Let’s go for a drink baby, lets go out tonight”
She can’t go out on a Tuesday,
(I know that)
I don’t want to either really; just want to get out of here
- get away
(Where the fuck can you go on a Tuesday in this shitty town anyway?)
I take a walk through the park
Look at the swans
Feel the sun in my face
(Just doesn’t feel like home anymore)

“COD!”
Huh?
I turn around,
(It’s Mike! What the hell is he doing, hanging with those junkies?)
“What the fuck Mike, what’s up?”
“Fuck! It’s good to see you, man”
We hug; hold on to each other for the longest time
Right there in the park
People must think we’re mad
Old ladies looking
Kids running by
Junkies laughing
“You don’t look so good Mike”
“Forget about it Tor, life’s hard you know”
(I know)

“Wanna hang for a while? We’ve got some good shit”
He smiles from ear to ear
Happy to see me
A familiar face from a life long gone
“It’s not for me Mike, wouldn’t mind getting drunk though”
“Cool! But you’re buying; I can see you have a job”
He laughs at his own joke
“Sure, I still have the old job. -home on leave”

We buy some booze and a few beers and sit down in the park
“How are things? Same ole’?”
“Pretty much. Some left, got some fresh blood. Can-Can is The Man still”
(An image goes through my mind)
“The Professor’s gone Mike”
“Damn! What happened?”
(They beat him bad, made him eat his glasses. Killed a pregnant woman
in front of him to get answers. Tied him up with barbed wire and
dragged him behind a pick-up through the village. Hanged him from
a telephone post with a sign: WHITE DEVIL)
“It was a sniper,” I said, “He didn’t feel a thing”

I’m cold
Sweating
Shaking
Hold the bottle an inch from my mouth and pour vodka down my throat
(Fuck, I’m thirsty)
He knows I’m lying
“Shit Tor, did you get them?”
(We tracked down and executed 25 of their elders, blocked all exits
and torched their HQ. The old building went up like a bonfire.
50? 100? 500? Nobody made it out
WHITE DEVILS)
“We got them”
(Didn’t bring the Professor back though)

We just sit there, drinking
For a few hours Mike’s back with the living
Back with “the boys”
We remember far away countries,
People we’ve met,
Places we’ve seen,
Stories we’ve heard,
Friends we’ve known
For a few hours, we forget the world
For a few hours, we’re happy

“You can’t sleep here, punk!”
The Police officer wakes me with a nudge of his boot and tells me to get lost
“Where’s Mike?”
“Who?” he asks, “Nobody here but you asshole, and you’re out of here too”
My head hurts
He’s got the sun in his back; his hat leaves a familiar silhouette,
I’m on my feet in a flash
Reaching for the knife in my boot
It isn’t there!!!
I remember; I’m on leave, I’m home
He looks me in the eyes,
Sees my dog tags,
My scars,
My moves,
Feels my anger
Sees “ME”
“Sorry mate didn’t mean to disturb you. We’re clearing the park for
the concert, you should move on”
I look at him with hateful eyes:
“Piss off, you fucking cunt!”
He moves on, takes more than words to throw him off.
He’s got me made; he knows my kind. He knows to leave me alone
He doesn’t need trouble, just needs me to leave the park
(A good cop)

I go straight to the base
Don’t need this fucking shit
2 weeks left of my leave, and I’m back with the boys again
“The Corporal’s leave has been cut short, Mrs. Cod,”
the Lieutenant calls Mom,
“Yes, he’s fine. We needed him back ASAP. Sorry that we couldn’t
inform you Ma’am. Yes Ma’am, fine Ma’am. I’ll tell him Ma’am, we want
him back safe too Ma’am”
(He’s all right the Lieutenant; he’s a trench rat like us.
Not some fucking know-it-all bastard from the academy)

“Mike says Hi”
“Anybody wanna get drunk tonight?”
“I’ve got newspapers from home”

Fucking walk in the park

Author’s Note: I never saw Mike again; he died from an overdose a couple of days later. He didn’t quite make it to 26. The Professor lived to see his 24th birthday. They live forever in my heart – Buddies