| Battle Hymn I remember Once as a boy, I used to remind myself whenever I felt pain That pain was a measure of knowing that I am alive and still kicking And in fact since I was kicking meant I still wanted to live I heard That once as a boy, I had at one time thrown a freshly Baked pumpkin pie in my brothers face in retaliation for the Freshly baked lemon meringue that he threw in mine I remember The time my father taught me how to skin a crappie in the tiny Fish house that sat at the foot of the docks of the Twin Bay Resort And the cut I made in my wrist as the knife slipped from my scaly fingers I heard My father laughing out loud and crying at the Blue Heron Supper Club When he started to tell me stories about my brother and I and how we had Caused him to drink even though he has drank since before our births I remember Once hearing how my brother was still-born and of the Chicago Headlines That called my brother a �miracle baby� when he started to breathe on his own Just after the doctors had decided unanimously to turn off the machines I heard The recitation of the memory in my head as I recalled the shock and Undecided horrors of witnessing my brother�s body lie in a scarlet pool Not feeling any pain, not kicking, not knowing if I was alive I remember hearing I heard a memory |