Samuel Ludke's "Fighting" reads like a quick, tense scene followed by a decision. The speaker begins by wanting a chance and wanting to see someone, but the lines turn guarded fast. "If the water burns / Take your hands out" sounds like simple advice, though it also feels like a warning about staying in something painful. Then comes a hard pride: the speaker would ask for help if they needed it, and they don't.
The middle of the poem is where things shift. "The enemy needed me first" is vague, and the poem never says who or what the enemy is, so it could be an actual rival, or a darker force in the speaker's own life. The speaker walks to a corner-store with a cigarette, oddly casual, while the other person has blood on their hands and needs help.
The ending is cold but not entirely hard. "Blessings to you" is a kind of goodbye, almost a prayer, yet "But I'm gone" shuts the door. The mood is weary, numb, and a little guilty.