Our New Camouflage

 

The Cold War’s demise left us underdressed
near the smolder of kommissar campfires.

So we altered the patterns and colors
of our passe battle dress uniforms,

shifting the design so we could keep pace
with a foreign policy of hard steps—

new abstract art for a global footprint.
Museums might call it “Cubist redux”

that mimes the tints of sands, trees, skies, and seas,
and any shadow whorled with absent light;

these outfits for all weather and seasons
shielding skin we hope is still worth a kiss.

—Maj. Jeffrey Alfier, U.S. Air Force
January 2006

 

Book Cover

 

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March 2023