Laying prone on the ground,
the American soldier waits for the signal.
The Germans are gaining ground.
Silently, he reaches for his gun.
They stop walking, and he listens intently.

Six broad shoulders with light brown shirts
and pants smudged with gun powder and mud
approach him, whispering in foreign tongues.

What should he do?
Get up and run, or stay here and shoot?
They come closer,
and inches away, they spot him.
Rising, he hears a thunder.

Was that what he thought it was? Slicing through the air,
a bullet flies towards him. Hitting him in the arm,
he starts to fall. Turning around, he riddles the German with bullets.

Turning on their heels,
five Germans run for their lives
and he breathes in life again.