Between the Signal Shots
1.
half-past
(one)
Miller's first echoed
split silence
of Napoleonic sprang
'there she goes!'
must have been like
a first rain dr-op
before a hail storm
doubtless, it hung in the
air
a lofty suspension
to a deadly speck
2.
while hanging
time exaggerated
extended and enveloped
armies
if it caught you blind
your ears turned to
front
because this was not
silence
you knew
it had begun,
but could not tell
what
3.
to a gunner, the waiting
the lanyardtaughtt
in white sweaty
hands
gripping wood
and leaning,
just slightly
waiting
the motion for the second -
order
,maybe nod
or intuition
but you knew
now pulling
to nothing
anti-
climax
pulling to misfire
4.
to take up slack
only off by
splitting hairs:
number three
5.
the line then exploded
back