(no subject)

[rosiedoes]

Soldiers Die in War

Die from bullets, shrapnel, booby traps
Quickly and quietly,
Loudly in agony,
Shaking and screaming
with blood spattered uniforms
held down by the medic
crying
Or silently, at peace, waiting
In the morning
With dew on green leaves
That turn in the breeze
Flowing down the valley
Dispersing the mist
When the world is waking.
And in the heat blasted afternoon
Sweat dilutes the blood
And there's not enough water.
Or anytime, anywhere, anyway--
Disjointed thoughts
Of pain and home,
Mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers,
Girlfriends,
And the medic--
And how
unfair it is
to have all of life
and no life
and each and every second is
slow
and
clear.


- Jim Nye, 101st Airborne