Billy was the smartest kid around
at playing dead.
Blow a hole in his chest with a .45
and he’d hurtle six feet backwards
and lie perfectly still till his
mother called him in for tea.
Pierce his tank turret with a shell
and bits of him broke off
as it ricochetted around
until there was hardly any of him left.
Send him over the top and
he’d kill twenty Germans
before falling back in the mud
dying slowly and heroically.
Give him a mission impossible and
he’d return dragging the entire armada
before life oozed from him
lying face down on the beach.
And he could choke to death brilliantly
if you strangled him.