Battle Dress Uniform

Ammunition belt. Corset of bullets.

The pattern woodland, cloud brown,

eye of the deer, beach to jungle,

a soldier must be ready, deployment

from the French to unfold. Fern curl,

frogskin, the six types of shadow,

not just mud but muck. Painted desert,

mouth of the cave, infrared dyes,

the latest science, radiation signature

of a leaf. Limb twist, tree bark, a soldier

entrenched, low crawl, night goggles,

better than armor, a uniform

that knows the language of owls.

Blink and the woman ahead turns

to brush. Shoulder to shoulder.

Branch against another branch.

Buttons that could deflect bullets,

or so we’d been told.