Fort Knox
        to wait
        to form a line to form a line to form a line...
                                —Randall Jarrell

This is the line
for showers where men

hold soap cases over
their dicks. This is the line

for the rappel tower
where men look at the sky

then fall. This is the line
for phones where men

have two minutes to call
home. This is the back

of each head: the hairline
squared or rounded. The nicks

& moles on necks. On marches,
the shift of shoulders. This

is the line for the pit where men
hold sandbags above

their heads. This is the line
for shots & vaccinations

where a man, so tired,
walked off with a syringe

hanging from his arm
like a string.

Tweet

Copyright © 2021 Hugh Martin All rights reserved
from In Country
BOA Editions
Reprinted by Verse Daily® with permission