I Have No Fear — In the Shadow of the Tanks

The earth trembles... Engines growl along the rusted horizon. The soil has learned to speak in steel. Our voices have gone silent — Yet the rumble of the tracks still circles in the air like a prayer. An Abrams glimmers in the distance, Its barrel aimed directly at us. Before me stands an Altay — Silent, cold, and ready. Not a single word between us, Yet everything has already been said. Fear evaporates within the scent of gunpowder. My heart pounds like a 120 mm cannon In the shadow of death — I have no fear of you, I tell myself within, For I was forged inside the fire itself. My body moves before the order is given, As if against my will. The barrel tilts — the target locks. For one brief moment the world is swallowed in silence — Then the sky is torn open, And metal prays up toward the heavens... Only echoes remain amid the cloud of dust. Scorched earth, twisted armor, silent radios... Yet we are still here — Like voices of steel rising from the ashes. Our eyes — drained of all feeling As the enemy tanks burn before us... If one day this war should end, Even when the tanks fall silent, they will remember us — Cold engines, warm hearts, And those words alone: I have no fear of you...