Liam Ferney: Dulce bellum inexpertis

pull the stitch through
and sew the night wounds.

the best time for war
is while the enemy sleeps.

Wilfred Owen of Tikrit
breathes freely

(not a mustard gas insectoid
of trench warfare).

they are the nonchalant Knights
of the Kevlar Table.

Incubus sticker
on the side of his helmet.

residual radiation
doesn't feature in barracks conversation.

in the middle of November
he starts to wonder

if the reindeer
know the way to babylon.

some turkey turns up
celebrating the pilgrim's progress.

a constant jumbo jet tinnitus
and sleep dep hallucinations

keeps his patrol
as keen as rambo's knife,

but the worst news comes
on Christmas Eve

and the e-card
Pvt. Taylor sends his girlfriend

bounces back,
address blocked.