they came in from the sun
just quietly sitting there
but you could tell they were alert
from the postures in each chair
each member carefully placed
so the whole group could see
through shared video interface
three hundred and sixty degress
body armour creaked
tightly hugging each chest
the essential bulky
potentially life saving vest
you could feel a wall of silence
building up in that small place
you could see the tension growing
on face after face after face
they drank their coffee slowly
very quietly thanked and paid
then returned back into the sun
from their place in the shade
the tension slowly eased
converse again at last
presence of a patrol could
have attracted a bomb's blast
back out on the street
weapons at the ready
they eased down that street
a progress slow and steady
alien in that landscape
that wished them long gone
iraq unfor patrol
century twenty one
