Hassan Iftikhar Poetry

We were boys, really.
Not the great men depicted in history at all.
We talked about girls and sex,
We talked about parties and high school,
We laughed like fools as we roared
Down the rivers in powerful boats
Bristling with guns.

It wasn't ours to question, really.
We were told to go there, go here:
I remember the finger pointing to a spot
On the map and thinking, "OK, we'll go there."
That it became a corner of hell,
With wild things flying at us out of the night,
Was not our doing.

In combat you learn to duck, really.
And think quickly. It's not so much about
Glory and courage, it's more like
Maximizing the chances for survival
For everyone. After 36 years of thinking
About it, what I remember most?
We were boys. Really.

Poet: W. Mahlon Purdin