Your Country Needs You

Your country needs you! Roll up roll up! we’re going to war, It’s a noble cause, to be fighting for, If your a boy, we’ll make you a man, No rules apply, do anything you can. Bomb our enemies, back into dust, Blow up infidel’s, look at their guts, Burn them alive, we’ll supply the flame, Don’t ever worry, nobody’s to blame. Rape the women, bayonet kids, No ones accountable, is what it is, Torture’s fine, we turn a blind eye, Line em against a wall, say bye bye. Get close to the enemy, hear their shouts, Move up nearer still, see them inside out, Prod with a stick, see if they’re alive, Can’t get enough, when will more will arrive. Can we obliterate graveyards, claim as our kills, No problem at all, name it “operation goodwill” Yes we’ll make a man, of you yet, Teach them a lesson, never to forget. What’s that whisper, I hear you say, Geneva convention! Hush, only child’s play, Don’t ever forget, God is on our side, We fight for liberty, nothing here to hide. Look at the medals, pinned upon your chest, A real man now, and you belong to the best, Before you know it, be back with the kin, Tell them about the enemy, all their vile sin. Don’t worry about an odd, sleepless night, Carried out your duty, Goddamned just right, What about reports, of protests back home, They’re only cowards, who like a good moan. But I reek to hell, after scrubbing clean, That’s just the smell, of a killing machine, Feel like I’m rotting, and drowning in filth Snap out of it, or be eaten alive by guilt. How does this stop, I’m overwhelmed with grief, Screaming at night, and shake like a leaf, Look in the mirror, Oh god what have I done, Keep it together man, it’s ok because we won. What if we lost, I’d be guilty of war crimes, That’s the glory of winning, dumb swine, You trained me to go, and commit bloodshed, Now like a wounded animal, better off dead. This wasn’t my fault, just did what you said, Here’s my last order, put a bullet in your head, I know it’s tragic, but happens sometimes, This is a war poem, not a nursery rhyme. By David Kavanagh