He lost her letters in a knapsack
That fell of the back off the army green truck.
She felt the etching of his face
Slip away, in her memories
She could not distract herself
He couldn’t quite dedicate himself
To the barked commands, the sour breath
Of waking up at the crack of dawn
In the barracks, he saw her
In a white dress on the day they met.
Could you cradle me in the mesh
Of star-spotted water, as she took off
That dress, just to taunt him.
He was mesmerized by her
Satin skin, only for a minute
Could he touch. He snuck up on her,
Crisscrossed his arms across her waist
Kissed her gingerly on the collar bone,
Swooped in aerially,
His interest, had to be alert
As faces become bullets
He held his rifle, eyes bugged.
She felt him rush by, as she
Stood on the bank
He exploded.
Went out on the fourth of July,
In a storm of gun smoke.
Trailing night-lights
Amber-red as his blood,
That speckled the water’s surface.
As she thought she saw
A shadow
Race over the water’s edge