I can feel my breathe
diminish,
go thin,
even before it leaves
my body,
exhaling out of control
as it insanely tries to justify
the war I go through,
a soldier never quite alone
in this jungle wilderness,
a beast
camouflaged
in plain sight, standing out
as death rolls the dice
with a grin that bares rotten, stunted baby teeth
and a certain foul essence that passes
for conviction, assuredness,
a firmness of plan
as jungles collide
and bitter battles