Doppelganger

He is suddenly beside me.
I smell the earth on his body
The musk of fresh sweat
Mud drying on his face
The acrid sting of burned powder
I hear his shallow breaths
Trying to steady his
Rapid pulse.

Never saying a word
I hear the metallic slide
Of the bolt on his rifle.
His desperation rises
Like mist from a swamp

For the briefest moment
I think his thoughts:
Concealment
Target acquisition
Breath control
Exit strategy.

Then the searing pain
The uncomprehending shock.

In a flash I feel his panic
I’m hit!
I’m hit!
Oh God!
Sweet Jesus!

It always ends the same way
Thousands of times over
His mad scramble for life
Dissipates
Into traffic noise
The ten o’clock news
The securing of my door bolt
Sounds exactly like his rifle bolt
And I’ll spend the early hours
Trying not to smell the smells
Or hear the sounds.

But he is right beside me.