Treacherous Terrain!

Vast lands without population.
Small pillars marking demarcation.
The east is ours,
Yours is the west!
Surrounding dwellers ---
Always under threat.
A fire here,
A fire there.
Cross the line?
Nobody dare!
Rattle of guns, crattle of people:
Like intermittent human springs, populace in fright,
Desert border areas, Hiding behind rocks,
And in the woods, for a while.
To avoid being caught in criss-cross fire.
Only to return like a wounded rat,
Back to the den of prowling cat.
To be bounced back, to hiding, for safety.
What a hazardous life in treacherous terrain!