Sunset, A Fight, A Prayer

Another evening comes to Afghanistan.

Sun’s rays brilliantly paint the skies.
Under reds and maroons,
Night slowly creeps down passes,
Settling into the valleys.
Eastward, the Hindu Kush range
Throws off daylight, slips into black.

Another evening comes to Afghanistan.

Fire from an RPG screams through the air.
“Incoming! Incoming!” is bellowed.
Grenades explode in the night.
“Here comes another!
Take cover and stay down!”

Another evening comes to California.

“Please, God, don’t take my boy.”
Reddened, tear-filled eyes plead
Amid beseeching glances to heaven.
Yearning for a sign, the mother prays.
Eerie, silent evening falls,
Red skies over Pasadena.

Another evening comes to California.

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Lou Marin is a writer, photographer, and historian for The American Legion, Department of Maine. Born and raised in western Maine, he spent more than 20 years in the United States Air Force. He is a published poet and short story writer whose work for The Havok Journal is largely poetry and reflective writing on military service, remembrance, and faith. He is also a stringer for Maine Trust for Local News, the author of Dimly Seen Through the Mists and My Lighthouse in Troubled Times, and a resident of Rumford, Maine. He can be reached at mbsphotog@yahoo.com or his Facebook Page.

As the Voice of the Veteran Community, The Havok Journal seeks to publish a variety of perspectives on a number of sensitive subjects. Unless specifically noted otherwise, nothing we publish is an official point of view of The Havok Journal or any part of the U.S. government.