Soldiers Poem by prabhakar bhatlekar

Two days breathtaking
journey by an Army Jeep
in icy region
numbed his spirit.
As he entered Army camp
soldiers greeted him with
a mug of bonfire-coffee.
He checked his cameras and
instruments.
Luckily next day was sunny.
Swiftly, he began taking
pictures of soldiers
spirited, noisy and friendly.
Click..click..click.
To his surprise, beyond
barbed-wire fence curious
'enemy' was watching
the photo-shoot.
'They know, you're coming'
A soldier said smilingly.
'Want to shoot them? '
'What? um..yes if they
won't mind..'
'Of course they won't'
Then beyond the fence
'they' gathered as per the
photographer's suggestion.
Again the soldier suggested,
both soldiers pose with
bayonets pointed at
each-other for the sake
of photographer.
They were there for years
at both sides of the fence,
showing each-other
family photos, exchanging
cigarettes, tobacco,
coffee etc.
Photographer happily
packed his things
to leave the camp.
As the Jeep moved both
soldiers waved him
shouting goodbye.