Wargames
Heads bowed forward
to concentrate upon the task
clean-shaven faces
beneath the headsets
reflect the screen-glow
amid an arcade of work-stations
computers and communications
racks and tangled cables
hands upon the joysticks
making careful corrections
to course and altitude
fingers flicking nervously
around the bomb-buttons
as the targets come into focus
An aerial view of desert landscape
criss-crossed with beaten tracks
unfolds slowly far below
small settlements of human habitation
at the correct co-ordinates
and the sought-after compounds
encompassed by perimeter walls
home to suspected fighters
insurgent enemies
in a distant combat zone
The transmission time-delay
of remote telemetry
muffles the stark reality
of sound and vision
of the over-flying drone
dealing out its deadly cargo
of silent sky-borne death
whilst the pilots sit secure
removed from any jeopardy
detached and unconnected
bunkered beneath the ground
in a rural homeland
amid cool and air-conditioned calm
within the secure perimeter
behind the blast-door
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