Toy Soldiers

By Seungwoo Lee

I remember; 
as a child, 

I quietly watched my older brother 
stationing a troop of toy soldiers 

on our new wooden floor
shinin’ with luster. 

He had them all lined up, 
and I just wanted to knock ‘em down,  
with all 
my scanty might. 

And so, I came along with my hands 
filled, to the brim, with toy animals. 

In my mind, the characters came 
to life. The soldiers shot shark-like missiles,

up in the sky; the air soon covered 
by a blanket of smoke. 

To retaliate, my elephant swung his 
extended nose & destroyed everything 
in its compass.  

O’ what a war it had been. 

I now stare at the battlefield. 
It’s barren.

Where did they all go? 
The toy soldiers. 

They didn’t even leave a speck of dust. 
They left with time & never looked back. 

Seungwoo Lee is a student at Chadwick International School in South Korea. He is an avid writer/reader who has a great interest in languages. His interest in poetry recently rekindled after attending a summer creative writing program in New York. In his free time, he enjoys writing poems, listening to music, and daydreaming (…about literally anything) on his bed.