Onward Forward

digital painting by @KDNeeley

It’s a story he asked us not to tell
So I will not tell his name

They were in the desert
hot, rancid, dry, miserable
onward, forward
step by step

Grunts in the Marine Corps
He was the Sergeant
He was their command
His shoulders held
the responsibility​
of every other man’s life
It would be his fault
anything, everything
it would be his fault

He was who they trusted
His orders kept them together with hope
Onward, forward
step by step

Shots fired
Nobody was hit
They were down
down, down in the sand
in the prone
on the ground
behind tiny little dunes
of sand

He signaled to his men
they fired back
back toward the shadows
in front of them
also in the sand
all these men were laying in the sand
laying in the sand

strangers laying in the sand
all strangers
afraid
and wanting to live
they all laid in the sand
both sides
laid in the sand

gunshots fired
back and forth
back and forth
toward the direction
of each other
then

a donkey in the desert
a donkey in the desert
walked between them
walked between the groups
and all fire stopped
nobody
no man
on either side
no one wished the donkey harm
all firing ceased without command

my Sergeant
Bewildered​ and aware
he stood,
bravely he stood
and watched the donkey walk
and another man
across the dunes
he stood
he also stood
and watched the donkey pass

and they
they looked at the donkey
and they looked at each other
and they looked at the donkey
and they looked at each other

and they each kept walking forward
onward forward
with their men
in the desert
through the sand
quietly
onward forward
they passed
each other
step by step
quietly