War Criminals and Justice

Justice seems to lag behind It depends on the law, place and time For what has happened since the crime Will sometimes obscure what you find Some Japanese and German War criminals Escaped conviction or had sentences that were minimal It seems politics and influence are important And stopping Communism and rocket motors were priorities meant The main point made by the defendants Was it was victor’s justice in their rant For without victory they wouldn’t be on trial And so they were in complete denial The Japanese Emperor Hirohito survived Because General McArthur wanted to keep him alive To build a democratic government And limit Russian and Chinese expansion meant Rocket scientists were a premium at War’s end With the Germans the best in this field of weapons then So they invented a whole story for Von Braun the scientist And NASA got the technology for space travel express I wonder if those people who were murdered Rest In Peace in justice not rendered When other priorities wrench out the right And we go further away from the light. © Paul Warren Poetry