by Ed Poynter | Mar 21, 2012 | Poetry
Death comes again in a gut-wrenching roll of thunder that rages and echoes through valleys and cracked mud compounds and turns men inside-out. Walls shake and vibrate as dust-clouds rise and mud bricks and dust fall from ceiling to floor. Dust meets dust, “for out of...
by Ed Poynter | Mar 21, 2012 | Poetry
The rich opium-laced breeze soothed us in its warm embrace and lulled the senses to relax. It seduced the wary eye to settle on the peaceful façade of this bitterly contested place and prompted heartfelt admiration of the lush greenery, the canal (whose cheerful,...
by Ed Poynter | Mar 21, 2012 | Poetry
“Hades Three Zero. This is Hades Zero… More patrols are necessary. You will push further out in order to ‘Dominate’ and ‘Reassure’. You will then pull back… Over.” “Is there any chance of some air cover or more sensitive IED-detecting kit? Is there any chance of...
by Ed Poynter | Mar 21, 2012 | Poetry
I wait. Impassive. Neutral. Buried. The goat ambles. Hungrily. Confidently. Hoping. The child dashes. Clumsily. Warily. Hoping. The woman steps. Wearily. Warily. Hoping. The soldier treads. Softly. Warily. Hoping. I wait. Impassive. Neutral. Buried. They’re all the...
by Ed Poynter | Mar 21, 2012 | Poetry
“Have you ever killed anyone?” They ask, with the innocent naivety of youth. “What do you think?” I reply, smiling quietly. But indeed, what is the truth? Have I ever killed anyone? Let’s think… In the dark and dusty, neon-tinted streets of Basra I shot at men who...
