Remains

The moral heart of the poem. Shows the doubt is what causes the trauma, even though the violence was most likely justified.

‘probably armed, possibly not'

repetition + word order: the soldier puts himself first, names his comrades only as ‘somebody’, showing how he distributes the blame subtly owns most of it.

‘myself and somebody else and somebody else’

the bullets destroy not just flesh but identity. The speaker acknowledges the consequences of his actions

‘I see every round as it rips through his life’

The dead man is no longer on the street, but stays in the speaker’s mind

‘he’s here in my head when I close my eyes’

The memory cannot be expelled.

‘drink and drugs won’t flush him out’

colloquial language, while also being used as a literal adjective to describe his actions.

‘his bloody life in my bloody hands’

Shows the never-ending nature of his guilt, and how it is always with him

‘end of story, except not really’