Metamorphis Into Mortality.

One enters into

a combat zone,

whether eagerly,

by direct order ,

or just on a whim,

wrapped in the

snugness of a

huge armed force

trained to kill.

of Xenophobia,

which  rather quickly

dissapates into asperity,

by the horrors that

happen all around them.

as they watch their

brothers-in-arms bleed.

Yesterdays with all

of their distant memories,

of the girl back home,

mom and dad,

and the peaceful life

of society at large,

become quintessential

to survival.

Tomorrow's are put on

a list marked Unknown.

The present is guarded

moment to moment,

under a monstrous

pressure unceasing.

In the midnight

cloud of death

as they suffocate

in the opaque mists

of gunsmoke, bombs,

bloodspray, and

flesh disintegrating...

they find that insecurity

is quickly sacrificed

for Justice.

The law of the

beast supercedes

all humanity and

moral conviction,

When men are pounded

into hamburger,

by the vexing of

the enemies rage.

Such horrors quickly imbue

the darkest of hellish nights,

that hold cruel demons

set loose to frolic

in the souls of

each man fighting.

Many emerge tattoed

with the red scars

of man's insanity

towards each other,

burned into thier seasoned flesh.

Others are carried

out feet first to face eulogies,

never heard in steel coffins

that echo loudly the final

twenty-one gun salutes.

Look into the eyes

of a veteran

with much thanks,

but never look to far.

Ungodly nightmares

linger there,

that might wound

your heart beyond repair.