We are:
the consequences of the past;
the foundations of the future.
Preface
I do not know the year in which Mark Twain wrote The War Prayer. I was given an illustrated copy of it by a good college friend in 1969 or 1970. The illustrations were all done in brown (rust brown on the red side and more transparent than opaque). Second only to the message contained in The War Prayer is the fact that it was published only after Mark Twain had died. It was his wish that it not be published until after he had been placed in Earth and covered with dirt. On the back cover of my copy is a quote by Mark Twain indicating his reason for not allowing publication until after his death. What I remember of this quote is:
“I have told the whole truth and only dead men can tell the truth…”
It is with this sentiment that I pen my deathbed reflections. I do not seek to prove any point presented in this reflection. Dead men (or women) don’t need to prove anything. This reflection is about what I have learned, correctly or incorrectly.
