The new Army poem by Petey King, a retired Army specialist and Veteran of Foreign Wars poet laureate, is titled “The Dicks Between.” It is a meditation on human potential and missed opportunities told from a distinctly veteran perspective.
The poem went viral on TikTok soon after onlookers recorded King’s live reading of his poem in the atrium of the Library of Congress. Though critics say King’s performance is reminiscent of Gorman’s exceptional reading only in that both are poems; Gorman was justifiably lauded for her inspirational words while the Army released transcripts of King’s poem in an attempt to enact UCMJ punishment on a soldier no longer in uniform.
Still, King’s poem speaks directly to the military and veteran community using language and imagery familiar to fighting men and women of every era — specifically penises and the drawing of penises on things.
