M4
Lightweight—
“You are so skinny, Trainee!
You’ll never be a soldier.”
I squeeze my eyes shut, tightly,
each word heavier than steel.
Magazine-fed—
“You need to eat something, son.
He is gone, but you’re still here.”
My face is pale, drained of color.
Each memory chambers in.
Gas-operated—
“Soldier, what the hell is that?
Can’t you even shoot your gun?”
My fingers tremble, shaking,
pistons locked in helpless shame.
Shoulder-fired—
“Shoot back, god damn it! Shoot back!”
The weight of orders holds me down.
My finger pulls the trigger.
The recoil crushes into me.
Weapon—
I squeeze my eyes shut, tightly.
My face is pale, drained of color.
My fingers tremble, shaking .
My finger pulls the trigger.
Why Danny, so cute, but elusive
Ornamental and yet unobtrusive
Preferring to stay
At the end of the day
In locations a tad more exclusive
Why Danny, you see, while there's cheese
In the pond and the voters to please
You could pop in to town
Take the M4 and down
To Devizes (one 'z' and two 'e's)
Why Danny, you've come from above
Like a glorious bright Tory dove
With the light on your wings
And your parachute strings
And a note signed from Boris with love
Why Danny, we've hoodies that you
Can hug if you're so moved to do
And a little white horse
And a Poundland of course
(that's a 'P' and two 'd's and a 'u')
Why Danny, we wish you were here
Come the day will you even appear
Perhaps in The Bear
Or the Pelican, yeah
Bet you won't pop in there for a beer
Why Danny, Devizes is nice
But in Wiltshire there's mud and there's ice
And Hammersmith's so
Very pleasant you know
(Spell Devizes? One 'D' and 'e' twice)
Why Danny, you're cute enough, true
But you're Boris's man through and through
And you'll only appear
About four times a year
(There's no 'u' in Devizes. Who knew)
© Gail Foster 4th December 2019
Sand, dust, and dirt
I was a soldier girl
I picked up my M4 and the magazine
My lipstick and my glass of wine
You wrote me 5 times to my million and nine
The sweat came down like a waterfall
Cascading on my back and my broken heart
Your empty words left bullet holes
beautifully laid out like works of art
Your long blonde hair and beautiful stare…
Gave me nightmares…Gave me nightmares
Study your books and solve their mistakes
The equation of love is something given, not something to take
Climb your mountain
Sprint your twenty-six point, two one
Maybe one day you will realize
The brightest star to earth, is the sun
Today's pain
is tomorrow's gain
My Hustle
is yesterday's struggle
High rates of death
increasing like inflation
This is a dedication
for those who died for our nation
This goes out for that father
who earns his honest living
So he joins the Army of One
& his only thoughts is killing
Thumping of a 50 Cal'
while the M4 clapping
I remember soldiers
used to prepare for a war
that will never happen
Thunderous marching by troops
about to set it off
Loud Boisterious voices
of cadence sounding off
If you don't have GOD
you better have some spritually
Everything you've seen in your nightmares
is now a reality
Fighting to live, as we live to fight
brothers in Arms, as we all unite
Forty-rounds through the chamber
the barrel hot like the sun
cold steel rips through flesh
or you can die by the gun!!!