night sky on Hindu Kush
fiction
edward w pritchard
a Greek soldier far from home, a soldier for pay following Alexander the Great
viewing the night sky on the top pass of the Hindu Kush
night guard duty, no blanket, no camp fires for fellow sleeping soldiers, half a mile away
listening carefully for Bessus' warriors, clutching his sword, peering up at one billion stars
shivering, home permanently forgotten, legs aching, sadness of mind,
ponders his future, why hasn't he been killed yet in a dozen battles
hungry, dinner skipped raw horse meat again
no one to remember, no one to forget
seven hours to dawn, one trillion stars rotate across sky
battle soon then on to India, more foreigners
where is his old friend The Moon, he wants to ask
" How many battles until it is over for me"
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