Long lost poem reveals a soldier's torment
What does it feel like to kill a man? James Lenihan of Brooklyn knew. He fought in Europe in World War II and he killed a German soldier during a battle in Holland.
He described how it felt in a poem:
---
I shot a man yesterday
And much to my surprise,
The strangest thing happened to me
I began to cry.
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So begins "Murder: Most Foul" a work that echoes poetry about war in the tradition of William Shakespeare and borrows its title from the bard's "Hamlet."
As powerful as the poem is, the story behind it is also fascinating. Sgt. James Lenihan returned home after the war, got married, had children and made a career as a salesman for the meatpacking industry....
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He described how it felt in a poem:
---
I shot a man yesterday
And much to my surprise,
The strangest thing happened to me
I began to cry.
---
So begins "Murder: Most Foul" a work that echoes poetry about war in the tradition of William Shakespeare and borrows its title from the bard's "Hamlet."
As powerful as the poem is, the story behind it is also fascinating. Sgt. James Lenihan returned home after the war, got married, had children and made a career as a salesman for the meatpacking industry....