Wednesday, December 19, 2007

He told me that the first time

he killed another man

in that humid, verdant hell,

he had his M-16 on full automatic

and when his enemy surprised him

reflex and recoil took over

and he cut the black pajamed man in half

lengthwise

and one part fell forward,

and the other fell backward.

And when I heard this, at age 18,

as in a Zen story,

I was enlightened.

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