Honolulu

The tall grasses in Makiki Heights completely hide me from view
Waving in an imitation of the nearby ocean
Moonlight illuminating all in a platinum glow
Distant voices sound as murmurs in the bright night
I wish to call out to them
But I cannot
The breath won't come
The strength deserts me

My thoughts travel
To a safer place
An oak tree hard against my back
Instead of rocky volcanic soil
Casting out a line again and again
An effortless repetition of motion
Rather than an impossible one
Such as calling for help
A beer in my right hand
Sweating in the humidity
Hanging like a veil in the Georgia summer day
Instead of holding a gaping wound in my belly
On this balmy Hawaiian early morning

I reluctantly look down
Every millimeter of movement an effort
To see blood
Black as the night should be
Seeping past my fingers in a relentless flow
Almost
I can see the pulses of my heartbeat in the current
But not quite
I expect I'll be able to before long
If I'm still conscious

I hear the head count being taken
I hear myself being missed
My name being cautiously called out
I can't answer

The voices grow softer
Footsteps crunching on the gravel road
Doors slam
A Chevy Suburban starts and pulls away
One unconscious Senator heavier
One foot soldier light

The man in the moon
Gazing at me intently
His features crisp in the lunar soil
I stare back
Nothing more to do
Grasses waving lazily around me
Longing for the riverbank in Georgia
Dying in this field in Hawaii
An unmarked grave
In the grassy sea