Under Fire In Iraq Poem by Philip Lore

I'm under fire,
Soaked to the bone,
Behind a row of barbed wire,
Flat in the prone.
On a dark cloudy night,
Waiting to fight.

Muscles tense and sore,
This pain I endure,
Looking down into my sight,
Waiting to fight.

Then...shots ring out,
The battle rages on,
A second of doubt,
Will I make it out.

Tracers light up the night,
My ears ring in pain,
It's a bloody fight,
Over and over again.

Its difficult to kill,
There is no rush or thrill,
Deep down inside,
I just want to hide.

At the end of the fight,
In early morning light,
This feeling of dred,
When we pick up the dead.

I can never explain,
The hurt and the pain,
I pray you'll understand,
This war...
And this soldier man.