Washington (CNN) -- What does it feel like to kill a man? James Lenihan of Brooklyn knew. He fought in Europe in World War II and he killed a German soldier during a battle in Holland. He described how it felt in a poem: --- I shot a man yesterday And much to my surprise, The strangest thing happened to me I began to cry. --- So begins "Murder: Most Foul" a work that echoes poetry about war in the tradition of William Shakespeare and borrows its title from the bard's "Hamlet." As powerful as the poem is, the story behind it is also fascinating. Sgt. James Lenihan returned home after the war, got married, had children and made a career as a salesman for the meatpacking industry.
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Poem tells the anguish felt by one who killed a man in war
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It was the only poem James Lenihan is known to have written, his children say
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Poetry professor calls it "accomplished," reminiscent of well-known works
Not someone tormented by a fleeting, albeit from an intense moment on a battlefield in @placeholder.