I Can't Envision An Honest War Novel

Noises And Smells, Those Can Bring Back Powerful Memories. I Remember When I Was Going To School One Fourth Of July, And There Were A Lot Of Fireworks Going Off. I Knew That I Was In Richmond. I Knew That I Was A College Student. But I Thought People Were Shooting At Me.

The World Makes Liars Of Us All.

I Understand That It's Incredibly Difficult To Watch What's Happening On The News Every Day And Not Become Inured To It. I've Fallen Victim To That Myself, Wanting To Look Away.

The War Tried To Kill Us In The Spring. As Grass Greened The Plains Of Nineveh And The Weather Warmed, We Patrolled The Low-slung Hills Beyond The Cities And Towns. We Moved Over Them And Through The Tall Grass On Faith, Kneading Paths Into The Windswept Growth Like Pioneers. While We Slept, The War Rubbed Its Thousand Ribs Against The Ground In Prayer.

To Understand The World, One’s Place In It, Is To Be Always At The Risk Of Drowning.