War Is a Curse

when war approaches, miles away 
it scuttles sideways like a crab
or creeps slowly, slowly and slowly
like a reptile, 
with holocaust claws;

a quick eye sees, 
a smart heart reads, 
at distance. 

war, as you may think, 
is not the pandemonium
occasioned by the actions of noisy missiles, 
nor the havoc wrought by Satan 2 explosion. 

war is not the sporadic shootings
nor the rumbling grenades 
that make the noble cities a desolation. 

war is quiet! 
war is when the noise has died down,
and the murky smoke disappears 
from the sky 
to settle in the mind;
and sundry sicknesses begin to creep 
upon the earth.

war is when poor souls are left 
to endure the wroth of a ferocious hunger;
when we remember our friends and lovers 
but can never again see their faces. 
then the soul wanders 
in the nostalgic path of peacetime,
and we wish those cruel days never be. 

war is the sight of miserable kids 
separated from their parents 
without a parting message. 
war is the plight of women stripped naked
by the death of husbands and children,
and that of the promising kids turning waifs
amidst of desolations. 

but we can win a war and lose nothing,
we can win a war without a gunshot, 
if we avoid it early.
for those who start fire 
are not burned by it.
those consumed by the flame 
never want war.

must we let peace lead
and shun war.
must we let love rescue the earth
from the verge of extinction.
for when we fight in the war,
it's only our friends that we kill.
Copyright © | Year Posted 2022

Poem

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Peck Avatar
April 20, 2022 at 8:29 AM
I love these lines especially: "for when we fight in the war, it's only our friends that we kill." Your poem is beautifully written. Congratulations.
David Avatar
April 24, 2022 at 10:16 AM
I'm humbled by your nice comment. Thanks so much
Agustin Avatar
April 18, 2022 at 3:39 AM
Congrats! Thanks for sharing this, wisely expressed. God bless you.
David Avatar
April 18, 2022 at 2:07 PM
Thanks so much ma'am
Alex Avatar
April 17, 2022 at 9:50 PM
"holocaust claws", "when we fight in the war, it's only our friends that we kill" - Beautiful. Congratulations!
David Avatar
April 18, 2022 at 2:15 PM
Thanks so much sir
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