How Their Eyes Danced With Darkness

We had a desert mission Just north of us in Zarghun Shahr But little did we know that day We wouldn’t get that far. We did not doubt the intel That led us up the road of dust; an IED exploded, in up armor we trust. To check if there were wounded, The hatch went down and out we went. The medics tended to the wounds And I my ammo spent. I fired on them with fervor Though til then I’d not shot a single round in battle; Sharp shooter I was not. I focused on the basics: steady, aim, breath, trigger squeeze; Before my second shot was fired I’d brought one to his knees. A second man was running but Cam was by my side. Adept at all things gunning, He shot, the second died. How their eyes danced with darkness and no more saw a beam of light, Turning us into killers Baptized in blood and fight. How their eyes turned to rapture When they died in the Stan and darkly dancing, stung me, those eyes of Taliban. How their eyes danced with darkness, the cursed strangers on that day; for what they’d done, fate would demand A heavy price to pay. I lay there, panting heavily, and Cam gave me high five. Our training had not failed us, and we were still alive.