How selfish of myself,

To watch somebody die.

The caterwaul of war spackled upon my brain

Twisted my judgment,

Bled through me until

The one instinct of survival was all I knew.

Companionship became a lie.

So when you came to me,

Death a petroglyph drawing on your face,

What was I supposed to believe?

You said you had a family,

That you’d give me anything for just one more day,

But your words were just crumpled paper

Dust on the mantle.

I had to turn away.

“Please…” Your voice resonated through my body

All the muffled memories eating their way back to the surface

In one nauseating motion, I turned around.

How foolish of myself

To stand there and let you die.