A hot sultry May breeze
provides little comfort
from the scorching night
temperatures— the jungle
humidity. I scan treetops
for creeping or hunched
silhouettes in the shadow
of this full moon. Nearby
cypress and mangrove
provide such cover. Ten
feet away a branch bristles.
Desire for a Lucky Strike,
a deep drag of nicotine,
must wait. A canvas of stars
twinkle in this midnight hour
as jet fighters rumble overhead.
In the distant mountains
artillery shells pop
like Fourth of July fireworks.
Static radio transmission
provides no coordinates.
I yawn, calculate the minutes
left on my night watch.
I am exhausted.
We had drilled all day
in the beating sun.