Sometimes I forget that it's
not silent here all the time,
then at 10:20, an hour after
I was supposed to be asleep,
I hear the sound of gunshots
from where the soldiers are training.

They must be out on late maneuvers,
roused gritty-throated from their beds.
"When yer in the shit,
Killing Or Being Killed
will not wait for you to drink yer
got-dammed morning coffee."

Soldiers would say things like
"In the shit."

I picture them,
ropes and bars
bright in the halogen darkness,
weaving and dodging,
preparing for Killing Or Being Killed.