Pillar of Salt

By Bryan Blanchard

Raining fire, burning steel,
And now I see haunted

Images of headless
Bodies bathed in bloodstained

Sand; of a mannequin
Head with a swollen face

And lifeless eyes pleading
Back; of an explosion,

A disfigured Humvee,
Staggering down the road,

A charred and gaping door,
A torso hanging out—

Bryan K. Blanchard, a native of Glens Falls, New York, and a veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom, holds a B.A. in criminal justice from SUNY Plattsburgh. After serving for nine years in the United States Army Reserve, he now writes essays, poetry, and fiction. He lives in Melrose, New York with his wife, also a veteran, and children. Follow him on Twitter: @BryanKBlanchard.