Monday, August 04, 2014

I Will Not Commemorate the War

I will not commemorate the war
That started a hundred years ago,
Until the war has ended.

The war continues, the battles rage on,
In Syria,
In Palestine,
In Iraq,
In Ukraine,
In a dozen other places,
The war continues, the battles rage on.

I will turn away from monuments and memorials,
I will not join the men at their cenotaphs and graves,
I will not wear a red poppy
Until the war has ended.

I will not blame warmongers afar
Without first blaming those at home,
The warmongers who make and sell the weapons,
The politicians who make the mongers' trades possible,
The savers whose investments oil the wheels of the industry.
No, don't give me your lame excuse of jobs and economy,
You who would make a hundred year war last to eternity.

There was a lull, a truce, they called it armistice,
But it was not the end of the war,
Just a moment of hesitation,
An opportunity to regroup,
Re-arm,
To fight under different flags,
Over different lines.

I will leave nostalgia aside for now,
I will stand apart from the crowd,
Alone maybe,
And say that a hundred years is enough to show
The war to end all wars is a lie.

You are still fighting.




3 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

I think it's pretty churlish to turn your back on the memory of brave fallen soldiers, who gave their lives for us, because subsequent leaders haven't learned lessons they should have done.

Remember the tragic loss of life, remember that these men were no different to you or me.

Please make your point that people have failed to learn lessons and continue to wage war without being disrespectful to the millions who died because they were told this was 'the war to end all wars'.

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