THE WARRIOR

In the beginning in a color-stained place
Where the drab of the barracks o'ershadowed
His face, lived a boy, now a warrior of
Whom there's no trace.
And in the beginning: Scratch lice,
Shoot dice, eat flies, tell lies.
Training, gaining, aiming, maiming, taught
Strategy to avert tragedy.
In the interim dust-covered echoes of
Dust-covered men
And in the end a transformation:
Fear sits large souls caressing, to the earth his
Belly pressing. Knife high-poised, nameless
Faces, life is gone and death replaces.