H.E. Mantel

THE LAST CHILDREN?

“Billy? Do you know
about Wars?” “Sure, Jennie, I
know all about them…”

“Tell me what you know?”
“Sure, they’re cool, even though some
people get killed some-

times, but I heard my
Dad say, ‘We always gotta
be ready,’ then I

got my PlayStation
Army Men: Air Attack 2.”
“Billy, real people

Die, & when one War ends
there’s always another to
take Its place, & when

Real people Die, their
Families get hurt, too, & we
cry that they’re all gone…”

©Copyright October 8, 2008 by H.E. Mantel

Author’s Note: Commissioned for “A Hero’s Journey”, an Anthology about the children of war and the interminable consequences that war has on their lives, compiled and edited by Erik Ekstrom.