a man died here today, a boy really. shot in the neck by another boy who was perhaps the same age as him. the two boys were fighting for completely different reasons, or maybe, just maybe, their motivations were so close to each other one could call them kindred. what is the justification, if any? is there any justice in the wild wild west? and while his family clings to the sight of his shape for the last time before letting him loose in the afterglow, do they curse themselves for allowing their offspring give his life for what some might consider frivolous pursuits with no clear benefits?
i stood in the space between the mountains with a line of hundreds, my head down, hands behind my back, as the biting air assaulted my face and appendages. the sting of sand and dirty in my eyes as the helicopters came down to pick him up. and they they walked me, six men, four carrying a stretcher with an american flag draped over a motionless form. the air is still, the sounds of grown men sniffling are followed by the echos of the birds leaving to take him home. nothing follows.
i sit in a tent, with dozens of others, rehearsing as they pay homage to their fallen brother, their friend, their family. in memoriam they commemorate him. tomorrow is the real thing, but even in practice this stricts to the core of the matter just fine. i never knew this specialist, but as i watch his friends, struggling to hold back tears, as they speak to the crowd about their companion, i feel connected. i hate that i do, in fact i loathe myself for these feelings. but i can't deny the swelling in my heart or the sadness. i am connected to every long face and sad soul in this tent, and my heart feels a sense of loss. it doesn't matter if i believe in the fight that he fought, the fight that we're fighting. it doesn't matter if this war is or isn't an imperial march on a country that has nothing to do with the american dream, or her way of life. what matters is that tonight a mother will be beside herself when upon receiving the news that she no longer has a son.
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