Stars and Stripes

Playing in the old cemetery was our favorite game.
Hiding behind the gray slabs of stone, waiting to be found
My brother crept up behind me,
A sneak attack

We zigzagged between the gravestones
With the reckless abandon that only children possess
Until we saw the small red brick building,
A new playground we must explore

The doors were ajar
The light outside illuminating the stone floor
We saw a large wooden box
A coffin, beckoning us to look inside

Stepping closer, slowly pushed by a covert force
We looked down at the same time,
As if on the count of three
We were not prepared.

A body lay in the wooden box
Covered with stars and stripes
Red, white and blue --
Blue like the sky we had carelessly played under
Minutes before

We turned and ran all the way home,
Never looking back, never thinking back
Locking the cold image in the vaults of our minds
Just like the vault he lay in.