A Soldier's A-Z of Life

The fields are grey and my corn is of wheat

A man falls, while blue sky appears overhead

The rice is white and of yesterday's grain

I pick gently at the meat whose sides and hollows are with jelly and quite revolting.

I am hurt, but all thought of pity is gone, because I am lucky.

All my shame and etiquette left me

As I felt not only tears but foul smelling fluids running freely from my eyes

I cannot walk as the fluid from my knees has seeped out and blistered and infested the surface of my shin from the groin downwards.

My feet seem to have merged into one swollen mass of contamination, as I bleed from my head and below my waist.

I don't feel anything; nor do I think of anything as my life consists of drifting in between understanding of what has happened; irrational behavior that I cannot explain and insane helplessness.

I nearly choke as I swallow one of my teeth

I move my tongue around my mouth and I am sick, as I feel my tongue tearing the teeth away from their roots.

As I gently let the broken teeth run out the side of my mouth, I cry myself to sleep

I am waiting, finally to die

I no longer love my country, or have a body to be proud of

And for mirrors to gaze, fascinated, but untrue

I hear aircraft overhead and later on the blades of helicopters coming closer

I no longer care, as my mouth and eyes become filled with death and tears.