Mario Petrucci
Sniper
4 February 1944
With him, it’s personal.
I’ve seen him gape clear through
an eggshell skull. That shuddering
finish. A sally’s different:
death, then, a uniform affair.
But in his sights the cock
of a hat, a quirk of hair, and
that’s it. This thread, not that,
snagged from the future.
They caught one once – confessed
he would track his mark a full watch,
get to know them real well
before the shot resolved itself.
Another would wait till you
were taking tea with your mates,
then drop you in full view.
When you hear things like that
your back plays cat’s cradle
with its tendons, trying to get you real
small. Christ – to be a tot again,
tucked between blankets of rock.
He’s out there right now. At dawn
clipped a toe clean off the corporal’s boot.
Scrunched his face black as croup.
Last week he was drilling insignias.
Two officers, for a lark, took
to restitching them on their arse.
That’s the thing about war – adapt.
No point going stark-staring
working out the chances. Some
have a sense – stall a fraction
before his finger squeezes –
his cross-hairs tickle
their nape. Most get caught
pants round ankles. Me, I’m
ready. Inside, already dead.
Sure, I keep my head down.
But your guts know the next nook
could fetch you smack up against it.
That sudden relaxation. The forever look.
Page(s) 38-39
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