Memories creep back into the present,
     Tiptoeing silently, then suddenly...

They are fully present,

     As if they had never left…

Before our insertion, just above the triple canopied jungle,

     The oldest silence fell over everyone.

The night black as silk,

      Our minds focused on deadly firepower, humble prayers.

Following above, gunships circled

     Like dragonflies in the muted, starry sky.

We looked furtively at each other;

     Our eyes masking fears with bravado.

If we could see the future,

     Some of us would end up on stretchers.

Lifeblood bottles swinging from side to side,

     As frenzied feet run to the medi-vac.

Where am I, as I rappelled to the earth?

     Somewhere else among those lost planets and dead stars.