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