...

54 views

Camaraderie
A chilly spring night
During my military training
I'm crawling through thick and damp underbrush
Struggling
My cumbersome rifle catching on branches
Gloves cold, wet, and filled with sand
It had been at least 3 days since I slept
Hallucinations
I'm on my couch sipping coffee
Watching mind numbing TV
Poke, Poke
I come to
My buddy Flynn is next to me
We continue on

It's the day of the swimming test
I'm confident
I was always a natural in the water
Flynn has a fear of water
I pass my test
Flynn is up
I cheer him on
He struggles but passes
We continue on

I couldn't finish training
Flynn gets deployed
I'm stuck at home
Anger and sadness
I want to do my part

It's New Year's Eve
I receive a phone call
It was about Flynn
A vehicle he was in drove over an IED
No one survived

You were only 21
With a fiancée back home
I will never forget you
Lest We Forget

© JackDedalus