1 In the first deep darkness, during lit candles and prayer, I walked alone past the mess hall with my phone.

2 Cold, the phone cold to the touch. The news from home was not good. Her voice in the dark was a small dry bell. The searchlight flashed along the fence.

3 Back in the tent, a deep bulb-lit quiet of men reading. Haggard cats huddled near the heater. I read; and stopped, too tuned to it.