The War We Fought (Part I) Poem by Richard Lam

I saw him and he saw me
In a land so faraway,
At a place neither of one us should've been.
I was faster.
I was luckier.
No time to think.
I pulled the trigger
And kept on shooting and shooting
Until my ears became deaf,
Until my hand felt numb,
Until his body became a terrible mess
Spread on the ground at a strange angle.
I don't know his name.
I don't know his story.
And I killed him.
He looked so young, not yet a man!
He could've had years ahead of him.
And I killed him.
Maybe his parents are praying for him at home.
Maybe his sweetheart is still waiting for him to come back.
But I killed him and now they'll never see him again.