Shutter clicks on wet metal
Boot prints fade in gray light
Thunder rolls past the treeline
Film winds tight in my palm
Red dust coats the viewfinder
Bus leaves tracks on frozen tar
Helmet rests in black water
Strap still warm from where he was
Horizon burns copper wire
Flash frames the broken glass
Each frame a held breath
Each click a pulse kept
Thunder shakes the negative
Mud holds what light forgets
We shoot what won't stay still
We keep what won't keep
Shutter faster Heart beats louder
Flash cuts darker Lens pulls closer
Drop the silence
Break the static
Mud lens flash
Thunder crash
Wire fence cuts the skyline
Boots sink deep in trench clay
Button snaps on cold uniform
Name tag blurred by rain wash
Thunder shakes the negative
Mud holds what light forgets
We shoot what won't stay still
We keep what won't keep
Roll film past the checkpoint
Guard dog barks at shadow shapes
Helmet reflects the muzzle flash
Single frame catches both sides
One voice counts the exposures
One voice loads the next roll
Both watch the developing
Both wait for images
Thunder shakes the negative
Mud holds what light forgets
We shoot what won't stay still
We keep what won't keep
Bus engine coughs at dawn break
Film canister sealed in wax
Mud dries on the helmet's crown
Negative holds what eyes lost
Thunder shakes the negative
Mud holds what light forgets
We shoot what won't stay still
We keep what won't keep
Thunder shakes the negative
Mud holds what light forgets
We shoot what won't stay still
We keep what won't keep
Mud lens flash
Thunder crash
Shutter closes
Film ends