by Jason Arment

I go to my people
for help--
maybe this is foolish
considering

the pills
can only do
so much
& cannot undo

the bottle
dope
or
bullets

too often
desperation leaches
into our
spirit

Jason Arment served in Operation Iraqi Freedom as a Machine Gunner in the USMC. His memoir about his time in Iraq, Musalaheen, is now available from University of Hell Press. “How They Live” was written in remembrance of Iraqi interpreters, especially Owen, who were left in Iraq and subsequently purged by ISIS. “Fade Away” is about never finding relief, and turning to fatalism to stay us through the nights.