when boys must be men

and he sees them
in the shadows watching him
they unbidden, he unfearing
he is old now, battered, weathered
withered by hate, yet still
these ghosts of his childhood
come to taunt, and as desperation returns
he follows their hollow footsteps
through the briar over the rusted fence
to a neglected place where none can forget
deep in the forest, where the silence
is filled with fright, and the air is tense
with the imagined echoes
of the pitiful screaming of children
a fate that sealed their secrets forever
deep in their scarred souls
loveless and unanimated
he danced in blood that day
like a wild beast finally liberated
but the death they celebrated
still burns salty tears into their tender hearts
and time has healed nothing
only molding innocent boys into bitter men
afraid, like they were decades before
when god refused to answer
their simple prayers


when boys must be men
[2008.22.4...c]
NeverEnding Poem N° 35
(fifth line prompt)