Conscription
By: Eleanor McCalla

A young boy, oblivious to the
war raging around him until
he's drafted, the innocence
robbed from his grasping
hands; then--unprepared,
maybe too scared
to grow up--
his life
​ends.

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Author Eleanor McCalla emailed the editors: "The image of an abandoned bicycle brought to my mind the idea of a forgotten childhood--not one that slowly drifts away as someone ages; rather, one that is forcefully ended by a war draft or something of that sort."