We were soldiers once, <br />With dynamite as teeth <br />And limbs. <br />The food pyramid was <br />A square biscuit shared <br />Between the two of us <br />And I could taste the gunpowder <br />Beneath your nails. <br />You cracked the cracker <br /> (It almost resounded, <br /> Reverberations of thunder.) <br /> <br />You rained inside <br />When I removed the pin <br />From the grenade. <br /> <br />Ponchos were pretty much useless <br />In such situations, <br />But you were always good at ducking bullets. <br /> <br />I sowed them for breakfast <br />And harvested no less for dinner. <br /> <br />We were soldiers once. <br />And then I thought <br />If freedom had a smell, <br />It would be like margarine. <br /> <br />You hated it more than napalm, <br />Margarine. <br /> <br />We use to rub it between our loins <br />To keep away abrasions <br />On long rides. <br /> <br />I loved how we slept back to back <br />To keep our heads out of the mud. <br /> <br />Life seems to have brought us <br />More surprises than war <br />Ever prepared us for.<br /><br />Iohannes Silvaticus<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/we-were-soldiers-once/
