I Was Not With Him When He Died

I was not with him when he died Though he was not alone His friends were riding right beside, Their flesh torn from the bone. Fuel oil and some fertilizer Plus a dollar blasting cap One enormous atomizer One gigantic thunderclap Low tech weapon in a ditch. Can't distinguish which from which. Indiscriminately murders Fighters, biters, camel herders. No one saw them when they died I should have been there by his side My heart was all he had of me, My tears his love will never see. The fuel oil warms my house today The fertilizer, stashed away To feed the plants when I'm away. The blasting cap awaits in kind In the ditches of my mind.