IED
They blew off your legs
and genitals
with a quiet click.
You came undone.
Blood everywhere.
Your right arm, gone,
flailing
in a crater of your own
creation. Dying
you bled into the sand
behind an empty mud hut.
The medic, a kid
your age, maybe
younger, saved you –
my first ever
injury.
In shock, I don’t
remember you,
tying off the meat
of your legs, arms,
pumping you full
of coagulant.
My muscles acted
from memory. All
I know is the black boot
heavy in my hand,
your boot, and the
completely cloudless
blue sky, endlessly
perfect.
Posted 11/28/11