L Milton Hankins Poet Couplet

Not Without Blame

While condemning Putin, let us recall
That Americans are not blameless, after all,

Guilty, too, of invading our weaker neighbors
Increasing our land area by rattling sabers.

We forced the weaker Spain Florida to cede
Drove the Mexicans out of Texas, I believe,

Cheated the Indians out of their native land
Our destiny from coast to coast to expand.

We took protectorates after World War II:
Guam, Samoa, Puerto Rico, and others, too,

In fact, we started the Spanish-American war
To gain control in the Western hemisphere.

Putin is evil, and wrong for what he is doing
Like Hitler his territorial aggression pursuing,

But, we need to remember history’s lessons
And, recalling our own national aggressions,

Decide we must put an end to any awful war
And swear by our sovereignty, war no more!

Written March 20, 2022

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Caren Krutsinger March 21, 2022 at 4:21 PM I refuse to give myself credit for any "national aggressions," because I have not participated in any of it, but this poem is correct about thousands of other Americans who have participated. L Milton Hankins March 21, 2022 at 5:06 PM Indeed. I didn't enjoy writing this, but I felt we ought to acknowledge that we have not been faultless throughout our history.

Marco Chies March 20, 2022 at 5:35 PM The sage recognizes his past mistakes and learns from them. I could only expect such sensible words from a great human being, congratulations. L Milton Hankins March 20, 2022 at 7:10 PM Aw, Marco, you are too nice. But, thanks for your sweet comments. I truly appreciate your reading and commenting on my poems.