One Hill

Five soldiers stand at the top of one hill.
Why are they up there?
They have been standing up there for a fortnight.
Waiting.
Waiting for what?
One of them plays a trumpet.
He plays a song to commemorate his fallen brothers.
Who fell
In what war?
The trumpet player fell, and then there were four.
Four brothers at the top of one hill.
Four brothers ready to kill.
Four brothers armed and patient.
Waiting.
Waiting for what?
Their shadows grow long as night approaches.
One of the soldiers passes around a cigar.
Four silhouettes stand aglow in the fires of sunset
Cast on the strands of cigar smoke which fill the air
At the top of one hill.
One coughs.
Two cough.
Night falls.
Night falls and their cigar goes dark.
One lies down for a rest.
Three noble soldiers stand,
And one noble soldier lies,
At the top of one hill.
When the sun rises in the morning,
The hilltop is empty.
The soldiers have gone home.
The war is over.
The war is over.