03-20-2015, 02:28 AM
Revised:
Deathstalker (leiurus quinquestriatus)
Blue Afghan skies watch
ancient Khyber Pass
and Spin Gar's empty hills.
Nothing moves in the rifle scope.
Acrid wind stirs my ghillie,
calescent air shimmering.
I wait in absolute stillness,
desert mountain silence
enveloping me.
Home's a smoky memory,
blurred by blood,
manifold missions and fear.
A scorpion scuttles
across my shooting mat,
nescient of alien presence.
Deathstalker stinger raised,
it crouches in the shadows,
waiting for prey.
Movement:
Insurgents debouch the defile.
Hunters hunting me.
I breathe deep to slow my heart,
three hundred win mag
cool against my cheek.
I hold the leader's profile
in the reticle.
A man like me.
The scorpion stirs.
I pray for survival
and forgiveness.
___________________________________________________________________________
Original version of Deathstalker:
(The Deathstalker scorpion, Leiurus Quinquestriatus, is yellow in color with a smooth five striped tail. The adults are about 2 1/2 inches long. They are one of the most deadly scorpions. Their range includes North Africa and most of the Middle East.)
Nothing moves
in my spotting scope;
field of fire clear
two thousand yards.
Blue Afghan skies
watch Khyber's ancient pass
and empty hills.
Acrid wind stirs my ghille bush,
calescent air shimmers,
three hundred win mag
cool against my cheek.
Home's a smoky memory,
blurred by blood and terror.
Survival is all I ask.
A scorpion scuttles
across my shooting pad,
stinger poised,
hurrying to a hiding place.
Movement.
Insurgents debouch the defile.
Hunters hunting me.
Deathstalker (leiurus quinquestriatus)
Blue Afghan skies watch
ancient Khyber Pass
and Spin Gar's empty hills.
Nothing moves in the rifle scope.
Acrid wind stirs my ghillie,
calescent air shimmering.
I wait in absolute stillness,
desert mountain silence
enveloping me.
Home's a smoky memory,
blurred by blood,
manifold missions and fear.
A scorpion scuttles
across my shooting mat,
nescient of alien presence.
Deathstalker stinger raised,
it crouches in the shadows,
waiting for prey.
Movement:
Insurgents debouch the defile.
Hunters hunting me.
I breathe deep to slow my heart,
three hundred win mag
cool against my cheek.
I hold the leader's profile
in the reticle.
A man like me.
The scorpion stirs.
I pray for survival
and forgiveness.
___________________________________________________________________________
Original version of Deathstalker:
(The Deathstalker scorpion, Leiurus Quinquestriatus, is yellow in color with a smooth five striped tail. The adults are about 2 1/2 inches long. They are one of the most deadly scorpions. Their range includes North Africa and most of the Middle East.)
Nothing moves
in my spotting scope;
field of fire clear
two thousand yards.
Blue Afghan skies
watch Khyber's ancient pass
and empty hills.
Acrid wind stirs my ghille bush,
calescent air shimmers,
three hundred win mag
cool against my cheek.
Home's a smoky memory,
blurred by blood and terror.
Survival is all I ask.
A scorpion scuttles
across my shooting pad,
stinger poised,
hurrying to a hiding place.
Movement.
Insurgents debouch the defile.
Hunters hunting me.