I imagined
the end
would be much worse
After a peace treaty
muttered through clenched teeth
the horrors would be revealed
And the carnage
the dead
the dead heaped hopelessly
carelessly
strewn in every place unimaginable
And the wounds of the wounded
bleeding profusely
gushing violent red
festering foul-smelling yellow-orange pus
wounds, that even when healed
still ache
But this
this
this is manageable
A bullet straight through the chest
clean
sharp
precise
shot by a professional
so there is only one casualty
Only one heart impaired
Somehow this
is better
An assassination before the war begins
And all hell breaks loose