David Pratt
The Hero
They asked the questions without much interest,
but with some impatience, the captain
already late for dinner with his family.
He shook his head each time,
knowing what was coming, he shook his head
and said through broken teeth, To hell with you.
They expected this. Clipped the electrodes
one to a nipple, one to his penis, asked again,
then pressed the switch. His scream filled the room.
This was something new, beyond the possible.
Ten feet overhead, pedestrians walked dogs, mailed letters.
Could anything be worse? It could be, and it was.
They raised the voltage.
His bowels emptied. His vomit hit the wall.
He was no longer screaming, he was being screamed.
He still said No.
Listen now! At this point, he was a hero!
Had they stopped then,
ships, schools, and streets would have been named for him;
medals, speeches, women smiling through their tears.
But they didn’t stop. They knew--
they were professionals, and it was their job to know--
that everybody has a breaking point.
He drew on everything he had,
and everything was not enough.
It needed only five more minutes,
then they took him away on a stretcher.
And he survived. Stripped of his pension, decorations,
shunned by old comrades, despised
by those most frightened of their fear.
Became a school teacher, let’s say, bought a dog,
didn’t sleep much. Never quite sure again.
And never to receive
this posthumous homage
this inadequate belated praise.
Page(s) 48
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