whispers of comrades gone
linger from my past
questions asked but not answered
why did I survive and they did not
why was I chosen and they were not
though decades ago
their pain echoes still
their eyes plea afresh
their last breaths like yesterday
they found relief but I have not
behind a facade of smiles
memories persist
my cauldron of melancholy simmers
reliving those horrors of fifty years ago
I pretend they did not happen and
wish a boy’s memories can be forgotten
please
give me some space
give me more time
maybe someday
I can forget
but all too soon the day will come
when rain trickles down my headstone
and washes away my past
then I will be set free
and remember them no more