Hell Froze Over

Saudi Arabia August 1990 - 120 to 130 degrees; Saudi Arabia January 1991 - FREEZING.

Hell Froze Over

 

 

Damning the wind and the frigid cold,

I dream of the August sun.

Never-ending, freezing wind

slips up my sleeves and down my spine

here on sand and stone where lying, dying, I grow numb.

 

Hell froze over, the August heat is lost,

and the summer sun is a bright, cold stone.

Fiery pain of frozen flesh on fingers, toes, and face,

I try to stretch my muscles in agony,

as frost settles on my bones.

 

 

David L. Carmichael

The Warrior Poet

January, 1991

Author's Note

I was wit hthe 82nd Airborne during Desert Shield/Storm. My platoon moved north to spend a night in an ambush position that was nothing but rocks and sand and we froze our a**es off. Just 4 months earlier, it had been between 120 and 130 degrees.

Reviews

[Coyote Poetry]

I was there in 1991-1992. The heat was hell and the cold worst. I like the description in this poem. You brought me back to a time in the desert. A very good poem.
Coyote