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Counting down the number of breathes after walking out the front door,
Across the street a military dog leaves the house,
Raising the barrel and proclaiming “I got my first kill today”,
Before target practice dogs are taught shadows are not real people,
As the bullet forces its way into the shadow’s cranium,
I remember every soldier has family waiting for them back home,
Pondering which of us were in the wrong place at the wrong time…
My therapist points to a chalk outline,
Asking what do you see?
I answer the enemy, a child,
Military dogs raising a semi automatic at an unarmed child,
Witness to a war not meant for the human eye to digest,
I see a dog taking his own life,
Realistically describing it as post traumatic destructive reality,
When the end arrives will military dogs have a place in paradise?
Will we be able to sit with the angels we murdered?
Living in a country that confuses protect and serve with home invasion,
It is the duty of every soldier to protect every ‘American’,
Except Blacks, I mean Immigrants,
I meant Indigenous,
Hispanics…
They teach you about the genocide going on,
Hiding that you will be the one committing atrocities…
For the military,
For law enforcement,
…
Published by Khalid Zilberg
7 years ago 
