A book we read in class one summer
when summer sun and crack of bat
distracted us from assigned reading
and the discussions we held indoors
was written about a wounded soldier
who gradually comes to realize
the extent of his injuries
and prefers death
Grim stuff for high school kids
used to running and catching
baseballs - stretching ourselves
physically and mentally
on baseball diamonds in the sun
so that confinement in a bed
for the rest of one's life
struck a chord of fear
and we would have rather died, too!
Michael Pruchnicki
http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/johnny-s-gun/
