A midsummer day, I was swept away
with no one to see nearby.
And yet, who’s to say, I was lucky to survive that day-
when I couldn’t seem to die.

My people affray, I hid in dismay
I prayed as the bullets whizzed by.
My faith started to sway, I’d be dead anyway
but tick’ did the hours fly by.

And dare I say, I saw the bodies decay-
I felt a bitterness rise up inside.
Who’s to pay? Where was God this day?
When everyone is facing the red stained sky.

As my head started to sway, the scene began to replay
a million bombs pierced sky-high.
As we all ran away, hoping we return one day-
but bullets let out a warcry.

As I began to relay, their wounds on display
I’d lie to say I didn’t cry.
Running through the fray, dodging the rotting decay-
I wasn’t ready for a goodbye.

And there I lay, throughout night and day
left to mortify.

On a midsummer day, I was swept away.
All of my family has died.
As the troops swarmed in, my hope finally caved thin-
I, left forever to think, “why.”

Johnathan Tran (He/Him)

Hi! I’m Jonathan Tran, I am a senior at Huntington Beach High School and have been writing short stories in rhyming format for a few years as a hobby. I hope to one day publish one of my poems with visuals that follow the story.