A Soldier in the Gaza

[Jimmy Shaker]

A Soldier in the Gaza

Look good, to command authority.
Sharp and strong, to threaten with confidence.

Keep them afraid.
Or, tomorrow you'll be breakfast.

To stay sane, stop feeling afraid.
Be indifferent, don't care about anything.

Shooting is a way of meditating.

Sometimes the order is punitive fire.
Open up on whatever catches your eye.

Take your anger out on everything.
Cars, movement, clothes drying in windows.

Shooting relaxes a soldier, like meditation.

jimmy shaker writes this

[ms_spelt]

I think the central kickass line here is "shooting is a way of meditating"
think this poem could be expanded into something real mighty if you went deep on that line.
If you went deep inside that metaphor and used the poem to explore and show that.
the postures on watch as the postures in yoga etc...
I think you scratched the surface of something here jimmy.
and i think it could be friggin amazing if you went that route.
thanks again for the daily poems

[Jimmy Shaker]

The lines are quoted verbatim from an article in the New Yorker. In that sense, this is not so much "my poem" as found words plucked out from context to condense and intensify the article's main thrust.

Don't know that I want to go too deep into it...I think the soldier's words are pretty messed up, and I don't particularly want to spend too much time in his head.

Thanks for the encouragement, and the analysis.

JS

[ms_spelt]

thanks for the extra context.
that frames it a bit better for me.
thanks for the poems