Shocks traveled down the spine, heat through each vertebrae
A bullet hitting bone, lodging itself deep in the tissue
Twitches tried to drive the blank away
Tension through the muscles of your neck

Fog, mist, the coldest cold cracked the false, warm shell
Unknown temperature kisses each hair along the arms
Standing and bubbling until everything flexed off like tissue
Spring caused a damp breath to form against the walls

Urban warfare turned some into soldiers
Gorilla tactics turned others into warriors
A wailing wisp as the whistle of bullets
Turned the mud into a dimpled mess

No thoughts formed perfectly once thrown into a war
It’s a tug-of-war, with one side winning, both sides dying
The suffering alone calls every soul home
And dissipates like dry pieces off a knife into balmy water

Never releasing the pain at the bottom of the river