Sonnet for Sue: Casualty at COS Kalsu

Sonnet for Sue: Casualty at COS Kalsu
by Mark Lalonde

The way the dust shook down around on us
Say sweet things to keep her from crying in fear
There are no atheists in fox holes dear
The way missiles screamed, soft thudding fuss

Explosions sent shrapnel bits to end a wife
Nails dug into me when I said sweet lies
I held her til she breathed her last sighs
I tried with all I had to save her life

Heart sunk when I saw smoke under the door
Slap woke her up fear possessed her eyes
Her arm dismembered her glassy eyes
Sky medics tried to save her on the floor

Dead eyes locked deep in my armory
Never got her name just her memory

_____________

This first appeared in The Havok Journal on November 23, 2018.