A Beautiful Death

by glambertcello

I couldn't quit thinking about Curt Lemon's death after reading "How to Tell a True War Story," so I wrote this little thing up. I do not own The Things They Carried, but I kind of wish I did.

His life ended in a halo;

Flames and sunlight and pure energy,

Erupting, creating a glorious—

But murderous—scene.

.

The witnesses couldn't help

All of the awe they had.

Nobody just died in such beauty;

It was nearly unheard of.

.

And yet, they couldn't help being envious;

The rest of them would either

Die a horrid, gruesome death,

Or die mundanely.

Both were equally humiliating.

.

But not him, for he

Would escape to Heaven

In flames and sunlight and pure energy,

Finally free from grief, from war.