Written by: Selah Schmaltz

A Soldier in a Red Jersey

My soldiers Stand around meWe all fight together I can taste the saltiness of sweat with a hint of coppery bloodI think about the battle plan and look around These are my soldiers and I must lead them The enemy starts shouting and I watch I watch with hard concentrationStrong right I yell

Everyone is ready they know what this meansAnd then it beginsHutt Hutt we hear and were offI see the runner coming up the right side and I know my soldier is too lateHe is not going to make itI know what I have to doI pick up speed and quickly calculate our anglesI will meet him around the 40 yard lineI run faster

I smile to myself in that split second before contact We hitWe collide I can hear the deafening punch as my shoulders hit his waist and I wrap and cling for dear lifeSnot flies out of his nose as he goes down I hear his labored breathes and I know he is not getting back up

The whistle blows and I feel hands pulling me up with murmured ‘good job’sWe all go back to the huddleTo waitWe kneel for the fallen soldierWe kneel for respectAnd as I kneel there surrounded by my soldiers I realize

These are the faces of championsBut more importantly These are the faces of my brothers And as a soldier in a red jersey I will always fight for them