An experiment with Isocola

Here he waited in the darkness of the barren streets
They were cold, they were wet, they were still as death herself
He never asked to be a soldier
He never asked to occupy the living
Like they were minions of the dead
But here he stood
Rifle in hand, sword by his side
And though his courage wavered depending on the moon’s phase in the sky
He held fast, his face frozen in time

He hated the stillness the night did bring
He hated the silence and wind against his skin
All he wanted was the warmth of a body
It didn’t matter who
Gender, age, race…whatever
He wanted to feel human

“Live now, Live free!”
His best friend bellowed to him
From the humid beaches of his hometown memories
Memories of lazy days
Rough surf and dirty sand
He couldn’t remember
At that moment
Exactly how long he’d been gone from that dump they called the shore
But he missed its salty stench
Thick in the air, thick in his nose
He missed it so deeply

Ask not, ask how, ask when, ask never
the words echoed in his brain
As he stood erect on the twisted street
Paved with brick beneath his boots
The wind cut through him like a chilled knife to cake

He had been had
He had been tricked
He had been recruited

And now he waited
Armed and washed of his will
Waiting for orders
And the liberty to kill
For freedom's sake