Cover

(Written Saturday, March 19, 2011, while completing army infantry training. Boot camp takes away a part of you, forcing you to find it and take it back.)

I find no solace in hooks and blows
or combat quarters close.
I get no high in steel or chrome
for they cannot fend off the ghosts.
Nighttime twinge marks confusion's wake,
no cover to hide from fear.
First step's courage is next step's drain
expressed by Sunday's tears.
Twists and turns of heart and soul
behind these walls expected.
Shouts and chants build fortress guise,
true self goes undetected.
Yield not to weakness, to pain, to hunger,
to mind's resistance strong.
Give in to order, to tradition's code,
and to identity - so long.
Build trust, make friends, make memories,
learn life from one another.
And when flag and promise
take life and limb,
dress, recover.