A BOY'S EXPERIENCE

I remember the foot of a little boy lying burnt and mangled
in a corner of my old schoolyard.

I remember the telling of the story, too.
The little boy engulfed in flames,
jumping from the top.

Engulfed in flames.
Jumping from the top.
When I was young, I played it back so many times.

Time moved slowly then,
but it kept moving forward.  In time,
wide eyes and plastic feet,
were left behind.


This poem first appeared in Confrontation Magazine, No. 92/93, Fall 2005/Winter 2006.