Why Duty Free…
Gave me a flag, uniform, then a gun,
said a soldier’s life was to fight or die.
Drilled me to march, salute, attention,
but never answered, when I asked why.
Why do we need to kill each other,
surely not just for land, oil or gold.
Become uncivil, even to a brother,
Take another’s life before it’s old.
Why do we need a bigger bomb,
produce poisons we must never use.
If we turn the planet into a tomb,
who’ll be around to hear our news.
Why so many young lives, war wasted,
marked only by a cold white stone.
Testament to their lives barely tasted,
green grass isn’t flesh, or cold rock bone.
Why is it wealthy old men get too choose,
who will be our next, most deadly foe.
Why is it when they have more to lose,
they won’t allow their youth to go.
Draped in a flag they’ll bring us home,
sombre music for heroes, now dead.
Driven in a large black an chrome,
in war it’s more than blood that’s bled.
Why still....
Comments
A very moving...
testament to the brave soldiers and members of our armed forces! As we wonder why our sons, brothers and sisters are fighting in other countries, we should remember, that we have a duty to oppose tyranny throughout the world. The safer we make other countries, the safer our own. I like the terse, straight forward condemnation of those who pull strings and keep their own children home. Nice work! ~ Gee.
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Thank you,
Thank you Gee, But why is it we always seem to be opposing tyranny in counties that are full of minerals, or strategically beneficial to us. And in some countries we let them do as they wish. Regards Roscoe...
I totally agree...
with your assessment of the why! Of course, I see that our country and people always want something for our efforts to bring our moral brand of freedom to them. I never said that it was any different. Being a cynic, I once said that "Even a Boy Scout has an ulterior motive for helping an old lady across the street." We get something out of even that! [ The feeling of having done a good deed ]. I was roundly chastised for that comment then, as I expect I will be now. It certainly is a world of give and take and we always take something away from our [ good ] deeds. ~ Gee.
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Thank you Rosco
Courageous words. While inside we know what's right and what's wrong, yet very few will have your honesty and the courage and the honesty to say it.
I liked everything about this piece.
Thank you Rula,
Thank you Rula for your comments and help. Love Roscoe...
Same crit as the last poem of yours I responded to-
too many rhetoricals and not enough accurately aimed answers.
Geezers misunderstanding testifies to it.
Still, powerfully, passionately and well written, you have my admiration, sir.
Thank you Jess,
Thank you Jess, I wish I had the answers. But thinking about it you know how it works, even with the answers you got to find a way to beat the politico's fake news. And of course convince the media barons to distribute the solutions, that would probably be called barons self harming. Regards Roscoe..
Yes, I acknowledge all that,
but a few close shots would still help.
Like pointing to the fact that people get their information from media corporations with a vested interest in lying and diverting attention from themselves and all the eco-thug corporations that own them.
Like pointing to their vested interest in decollectivisation, demoralisation and shaming of humanity, to make them think they need 'strong leaders' who can 'make the trains run on time' (and we should all know how Mussolini achieved that).
Like pointing to war as a profiteering enterprise.
Like engineering recessions in order to buy up even more assets cheaply.
Just a bit more info to counter-balance the lies and fake news.
Your words have more power than you think. Especially your words.
You can't.
You can't call America a country based on free speech, when they nearly extinguished the Native Indians to achieve everything they have. Held thousands of blacks as slaves for years, then denied them a voice when first they set them free. Politicians and owners beat up workers for trying to have free speaking union meetings. America is based on greed and will always be so while capitalists have their fingers in the political pie. Same as here in Britain, free speech as long as it suits the politicos. Regards Roscoe..