An expanse of powder blue sky,
Baking down,
In which friendlies fly.

Enclosing a mishmash,
Stones, concrete, canvas,
Our new home,
we know as Lash.

Heat surrounds you like a haze,
Trying to dissuade us,
In this first phase.

Cascading down the chest,
Rivulets of sweat from nowhere burst their banks,
Here where it’s never safe to rest.

Behind the knees,
on your forehead,
Swelling to tumble from the tip of a nose,
Soon burnt if you expose.

Drops evaporate before they even hit the ground,
Here, in Helmand,
where fighting men are found.

Its the one distraction as ‘L&B’ slowly melts before your eyes to black,
Only killing time till Silicon 1 3 get’s back.

A mind devoid of tension, exhilaration, anxiety,
All washed away in waves,
To leave anticipation.
Wishing for the unthinkable,
And praying against hesitation.