The Sweetest Moment 

Civil war soldiers, having tasted combat

said they'd "Seen the elephant."

They would see it repeatedly

until it stomped them

gored them

or left them.

From the perspective

of many trips around the sun

I, too, have "Seen the elephant."

The first time it came 

blistering through the sawgrass

it arrived in the form

of one pretending an ally

who told me, simply, he was

going to kill me.

The elephant roared again

when an assailant fired three rounds

past my left ear.

Each bullet buzzed like a honeybee.

I could feel the heat of each one

just before it pancaked into the brick wall

behind me.

The elephant laughed the day

as a building laborer

I tumbled through a hole

in the ceiling of a ten foot room

landing on my back

across an aluminum ladder.

It laughed again the morning

a giant of a drunken fool

stood across from me

and tucked my Bible

beneath an arm the size of 

a fire hydrant, saying the sacred book was his.

I jammed my chin into my chest

and rammed the behemoth in the gut.

I really didn't think that through.

I retained my Bible and my honor

But the elephant stumbled away.

The elephant was not laughing

that November morning

a blood vessel burst 

deep within my brain

doing what neither 

my false friend

three bullets

a fall

and a thug

did not do.

I have "Seen the elephant"

and in so doing have learned

a few lessons:

Take the threat seriously

even when it smiles at you.

Especially when it smiles at you.

Never smile back.

When you once more open your eyes

look at the sky.

Appreciate the color.

Smell the sweet air and drink it in.

Feel your neurons fire

and your nerves react

from your brain

to your extremities.

Listen to the music in the trees.

Feel the goodness of your heart thumping

in your chest.

And celebrate that the elephant has

once more

thundered into the brush.

You must see it at least once more.

And in that final moment, it will win.

But that is then.

This is now.

This time, you are walking away.

And that, my friend

apart from cradling your babies

in your arms

is the sweetest moment in life.