it rained in the trenches
until he drowned in its tsunami
over and over throughout the night
desperately holding on
a baby-san blew to pieces
its ashes bitter on his tongue
from hand grenades he threw
because they were extra baggage
he stood guard as the commanding officer
raped an innocent
ashamed but too afraid of the skeleton hands
wrapped around his throat
a letter came in the mail
three months late from his beloved
a bullet wound so hot it won't ever scab
saying this was just too hard
he rolled over to wake up his
brother in arms
only to find him infected by the jungle's siren calls
and drowning in the sea of green
life was just humping
one place to the next
one kill to the next
because it don't mean nothin'
he promised to come home
and be a better man
his family would be safe from
those killing hands
forty-one years later
he's old and gray
married with three generations before his eyes
coughing up blood and snot
never-ending blood
because cancer devours his bones like an all-you-can-eat buffet
cancer from that godforsaken war
cancer a predator lying dormant in all his children and his children's children
cancer lying dormant in me
YOU ARE READING
Even Stars Die
Poetry"Nothing is infinite. For even the stars, brilliant and bright and true, light up the dark for but a brief moment before disappearing into the endless night." 【☆】★【☆】★【☆】★【☆】★【☆】 These pages were meant to bring my greatest fears to life because desp...
