On the day that he was born,
after his eyes opened to the light,
he began counting backwards
the years until his death.
He could have started at 80, or 70,
or even 50, but his first word
was the number “eighteen.”
Drafted into the military
just after his birthday
he was sent to a war
where he killed but was not killed
and never grew beyond that time
as he built a brick wall
behind his mind
and lived there, never growing older,
until the day he was no longer born.
Grey Sparrow Journal 