Dead and Alive - 2005

A book broke my heart one day

I walked down
A deserted hallway in my high school—it was after school.
And soon, by the main entrance, I saw the Prayer Book
Sitting majestically on the podium, in front of the main entrance.

Boredom beckoned me toward it and I answered.
I perused the prayers for awhile until I came across this one person.
This person prayed for someone sent to war.
And to the side of the description sat a column that asked
If the person being prayed for was dead or alive

It said “Both.”