boot

(a "boot" was an officer new to the field, dangerous to himself and others)

boot

the lt. died
before his first firefight
was over.
stood for an instant
with the radio
and looked at his death.

the medevacs were full
of half-living things,
so we humped
his body
in a black, plastic bag.

slung on a ridge pole
he moved around
the platoon.
we resented the weight.

early in the afternoon
two days later,
when they finally took him back,
his smell
was intolerable.
           on Mutter’s Ridge, June, 1968 , South Vietnam