Firefight

Attacks in the background,

beyond the outskirts of the city

become part of the nightly clutter of noise.

Inside the muffled tapping

of donkey hooves headed home, or boys

shouting, running their kites,

are the undertones of violence –

the tock tock of a Kandahar City police patrol

being ambushed on the road.

Consistent or sporadic, the sound of gunfire

varies but is constant –

a sound that instinct recognizes.

It filters into the subconscious

for later reference,

when we head out the gate.