- Insurgent
I killed you this morning.
Wait.
I guess I should start over.
I was brought before you. Called upon to nurse your filthy wounds. I was asked to ease your comfort in the remaining time
you had on earth. The tender welts across your back revealed how the Iraqi Police questioned you, and why you confessed
to your crime so quickly. You were just a boy. Lucky to have sixteen years under your belt. I bet you felt invincible. Maybe
even brave. The dull and opaque color of your hip bone, visible through the infected hole that was left by the bullet, whispered
that you only had days to live. I begged God to be there when it happened. I didn't hate you for what you did. I didn't feel much
of anything, except a burning curiosity. I wanted to unzip you and place pointy labeled flags into your organs. I needed to see
if your eyes turned to bliss, or fire. [End Page 13]
Gerardo Mena is a decorated Iraqi Freedom veteran. He spent six years in Special Ops with the Reconnaissance Marines and was awarded a Navy Achievement Medal with a V for Valor for multiple acts of bravery. He won the "2010 War Poetry Contest" sponsored by Winningwriters, won the "2011 Penumbra Haiku Contest," was chosen to be in the 2011 Best New Poets series, and has pieces published or forthcoming in Raleigh Review, Nashville Review, DIAGRAM, Chautauqua, Cider Press Review, and others. For more information go to www.gerardomena.com.