Doing What I Thought Was Right

Softly crawling,
creeping forward.
Could tell
they saw
us.

Don't make
a single
sound.

Open fire.
Raining bullets.
"Go, go,
GO!"

The tiny
children, weeping
for Mummy.
Grab one,
you get
the other.

Always watch
your feet,
son.
I did
not.

A million
pieces of
me, and
the children.
Scattered across
the desert.

Good luck
with your
recovery.

- from "There Was Pain: A Collection of Poems of War" by Frankie Ballard