The lone pink Barbie shoe

A soldier standing at ready,
aiming with a shoulder cannon
at some small object far off,
20 yards away
silence drops like a stone
as the air is sucked into chests
and held there awaiting,
the impending reaction
a sharp sound and blinding light explodes
from the end of the barrel
the rocket with its fiery tail
taking fractions of a second
to reach its target and make its mark
with heavy breathing and quick pulse
the soldier runs to reach the remains of the target
followed by Jim who pats him on the back
and says with an expression far beyond his age
of three years “Yep, you got her this time”
as they stood in the warm glow of the burning grass
and the still smoldering Barbie shoe.