Tedium

 Twilight, and monotony,
I sit peering down into the valley
Feeling as though I am the keeper
of the valley of the shadow death.
The earth smells rich,
The air is filled with humid smoke.
The Poncho wet and dripping with rain
Has a smell all its own.
The rain hits and crackles against it.
I watch as the drops trickle down the creases.
Heading for nothingness, Such as my life.
The monsoon rains, gray and endless continue,
unlike our fragile lives which perish.
My breathing is amplified beneath my helmet.
The musty smell of canvas and steel
The damp chill, the smell of WD40,
The aroma of heat tabs and watered down cocoa
Add to the nightmare of the moment.
Vietnam, a tropical hell liquefied.

Copyright Richard D. Preston 7/25/00