The Field (Inspired by "In The Filed" from Things They Carried)

Eighteen boys march onto the field

Backs upright

Faces smooth in their youth

Eighteen boys spread out in the field

The field of life, the field of death

The field of rest, the field of exhaustion

Eighteen boys camp in the field

Seeking shelter from rain

Seeking escape from war

Eighteen boys are attacked by night in the field

The field of dreams, the field of nightmares

The field that engulfs, the field that regurgitates

Seventeen men see the morning come

Backs bent

Faces lined with age

Seventeen men trudge out of the field

But leave their pride, their self-righteousness with their brother

 In the field of change, the field of thievery