bullets fly past his heart as he tackles the treacherous terrain.
he never saw himself in this position, not again, not now, not like this
he is faced with an overwhelming grief
he lies down and rolls over, he wraps his arms around his body, he clears his mind and forgets himself,
forgets the value of his purpose

he sees purple and gold
he sees roses in the garden
he sees laughing on the air
he gives up on battle and hatred and war and he is home

then gunshots pierce the air waves, drowning out the laughter
and purple turns to crimson
the roses in his garden are but lifeless bodies
he is back in battle

he stands and decides not to give up,
if only for now
and although he's seen this before,
he's been in battle countless times and sworn he couldn't survive it again
although he feels broken
he decides to keep going
he knows this time is different
no two battles are the same
every bullet is shot by a brand new soul

he is hopeful
again