POEM

POEM
'Armed with a Conscience'
The end of a poem by Daniel Colvin, titled "Armed with a Conscience," told through a dream in which two opposing soldiers meet on a battlefield:
Shaking like crazy, we both started to sweatMy heart dropped; his skipped beatsStaring and letting our eyes make the threatWhen inside we were fearing defeat.
I wanted to end the suspense and forget itI started to pull the triggerThen my conscience said, "You're gonna regret itYour purpose in life is much bigger."
I let go of my gun, but before it fellI felt lead pierce through my chestThe other man's conscience hadn't workedso wellSo he did what he thought was best.
I fell backward all the way to the groundSmacking the back of my head
My fellow soldier came and shot the man downAnd the last thing I saw was him dead.
So that's why I woke up in such a frightFearing the thought of warI was thinking of the man in my dream last nightAnd grew sadder than ever before.
The sad part is not the fact that he shot meThat's not it, it really isn't But since his conscience didn't teach himwhat mine taught meI woke up and he didn't.