am i dead yet

My friend still sat crying,

Because he was, where people came after dying

I knew something was wrong,

Though, the war had far gone.

I had always fantasized the brutality of war,

But now the very thought of it made my jaws drop

We had been good soldiers,

If not the best soldiers.

The terrain had been difficult

And the ammunition - minimal

Seven days without food

Our faces turned grey,

Nerves - green and blue crept out of the skin-

Thinned down by the sun’s hollow rays

Dry eyes and a clouded sight - heard each breath.

It were trees’ leaves that kept us alive

The border had been invisible

But the grim solitude of the corpses made it visible

I still remember, we had crossed it together

Only to find the enemy up close and rambling on

My frayed vision didn’t betray me –

I yelled after the shot as blood splattered all over my face

“One more down”

As I fell to kiss my ground…..

But all of that was past now

And here I was, still amazed at my friend

Who, had cried a little too long

When, suddenly he got up and left

A gush of air blew away the flowers he had kept on the grave

I knew something was not fine

And as I read my name inscribed on the grave

I knew it was mine..