IMMORTAL SOLDIERS
(A Sequel)

They ran on frozen ice; draping their bodies in threadbare minimum of inexpensive cloth, Took their positions scrupulously behind Incoherent lumps; aiming dead straight with their missiles.

They hardly paid attention to food; surviving on parsimonious amounts of water compounded with intermittent meals, Swirled their eyes rampantly in all directions; trying to track the slightest of movement; the most inconspicuous of sound.

They didn't budge an inch at the sound of bullet firing; instead retorted back with indiscriminate gunfire of their own, Belligerently attacking with their grenades and tanks; trying vehemently to push back the infiltrators.

They used their fists onerously to dig furrows in the snow; sequestering themselves from the opposite camp, Used every trick in their armory to entice the intruders; before mercilessly assassinating them.

They constructed their camps in the inclement cold; dexterously spreading the heaps of canvas they had onerously carried on their shoulder, Listened diligently to crisp voices emanating from their walkie talkies; endeavoring to adhere to every command of their seniors as stringently as possible.

They were quite accustomed to the obstreperous noise echoing far and distant throughout the valley; as it was an indispensable part of their lives, Incessantly chalked plans to capture their adversaries with surprise; without giving them the tiniest of insinuation.

They hardly talked about their miseries; the streams of blood trickling down their bare palms, Instead courageously pepped up each other; envisaging the sweetness of victory; applying cold water to their wounds as an antiseptic medicine.

They audaciously struck their swords into their opponents' chest; remaining unperturbed by the tyrannical gasps of profound anguish, Took several soldiers at a time; still remaining invincibly triumphant in the end.

They remembered their families on infinite occasions of time; nostalgically reviving the blissful moments they had spent back home, However phlegmatically shrug such thoughts away; when they saw them interfering with the safety of their country.

They were unrelentingly fighting to save their nation; at prime cost of sacrificing their lives; ensuring that a majority of their population rested cozily in their homes, I considered myself nowhere near the most obscure fractions of their shadows; as I was dying every moment to save my cowardly life, While they lived for centuries unprecedented even after death; as they had deservedly earned the proud status of being "IMMORTAL SOLDIERS".

©Copyright 2003 by Nikhil Parekh