SOLDIER
$SOLDIER · SOL · DIER
he never left the trenches.
He doesn't remember when he enlisted. The trenches were already cold. The chart was already red. Somewhere above ground there are houses and families and people who sleep at night — he has heard rumors. Down here there is only the next candle, the next entry, the next rug. He has watched a thousand brothers exit through the Jupiter gate and never return. He stayed. He is still here.
He is the Soldier. He is on SOL. There is no discharge.