FireFight
(Ever wonder what it was like for the 58th when they fought the Chigs)

We wandered near and wandered far
To kill the enemy, deadly and mysterious
And valued by those who loved them
Who were coming to destroy us.

Aching, dirty, weak and unsure
We creeped through the dense brush
Searching through the haze of the terrain
We tracked those Chigs as prey.

A piercing, hot and noisy hell
Tried our patience and our will
We continued on and waited until
We halted--and then we saw them coming.

Stealthily moving their way along
Far from the others and from their world
They moved as one.  None made a sound
They carried their weapons at the ready.

We fired first.  The deafening shot
Let forth a jolt that shattered
And smashed and seemed to go on
Till the planet was shook and torn

Then quietly and on command
We moved amongst that bloody band
And, with a single nod of the head
Left the bodies to the ages.

The smoke and dust covers the gore and sight
Of the corpses we had to pass by that night
We could die while fighting this war
Without the love or laughter we'd heard before

Soon we'll have to go out again
At night to hunt more Chiggymen
We know we could be hunted to our own possible end
Can we make our victory stand?

We question what we know to be right
Searching in the primeval night
We have to kill them, like the beasts they are
Lest our world be torn apart.

© Jessica Fry 1998

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