Soldier's Poem

Let me romanticise, just for tonight.

Today, I was sergeant Lipton. I held my rifle, and I shuddered. I saw my men, and I felt burden. I saw the enemy, I saw nothing. It is an empty desert, with imaginary targets, and I shoot them down one by one. An invisible stream of blood appears. I crouch behind the air, for I fear the enemy might see me. I drink, only to vomit.

I celebrate, because it is over. I contemplate whether it had ever started. The battle is over, the war is over. My war has begun. Fear.

For there she stands. Rebecca. Her face showing. I can see her. I am not willing to die for her. I will die for her.

A courtly love romance.