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| The Sentinel of Section 27 Photo by Tracy Duran Tracy Duran Collection |
As
the sun sets, I ready myself to stand guard. My name is William.
Sometimes they call me Billy, sometimes Hank, heh. Yeah, when I was a
kid, they called me Billy but when I became a soldier, I became
William. I straighten my coat and straighten my cap. I don't want to
disappoint my commanding officer by not being properly put together.
I get my rifle ready for my patrol. The horizon in the distance
becomes darker, where the purple of dusk meets the darkness of night.
I can smell the moisture in the air, the damp wood of the trees.
Tonight is one of many nights when I have stood guard. I don't always
get a chance since there are so many to take that turn. Tonight is my
night however and I enjoy hearing the silence. The quiet soft velvet
of the night.
There
used to be a few areas similar to the one I guard but now there are
many. Some decide to stick around and see who comes and goes. Others
chose to move on. What makes me sad in my heart though are when the
kids get lost and come by looking for their fathers or mothers. We
try our best to get them together and more times than anything they
find each other and move on.
