Looking Aghast at War

Two bullies exchanging words
Turn to throwing well aimed stones
Surrounded by their pals they aren’t alone
And before long they toss verbal bombs
Threats become action as they dig their graves

Two gangs fight over turf filled with graves
Spray paint their symbols and words
Scattered indelible dirty bombs
A witness to stupidity displayed on tombstones
And the women weep and wail alone

To give the cause credence he worked alone
Planting a flag at each of the graves
Breaking the silence of the stones
They were past the time of impotent words
To effect change they turned to bombs

Night was a time to fear the bombs
Huddled in dark cellars all alone
Peace was nothing but empty words
All the countries mourned and dug graves
Cities and towns turned to piles of stones

The mothers sifted through the stones
Searching for life after the bombs
They placed sons and daughters in graves
Bereft of husband and family they sat alone
Empty of tears, pleas, prayers and curse words

War robs us of words, turns hearts to stones, makes us alone
War’s bombs unsated by the graves of our hopes and dreams

This is my take on the End of Summer scavenger hunt prompt #8 – Write a Pentina on the topic of war. A pentina is a variation of the sestina but instead of 6 stanzas of six lines there are 5 stanzas of five lines. Anyway, it is only a tiny bit less difficult than the sestina. I’m considering it a “warm-up” for the sestina coming next.

We are a belligerent species. I can only be thankful that nations have NOT been able to pull together like army ants – that would certainly doom us to extinction. It starts almost as soon as we can walk. By the time we are old enough to play in groups there are those who exert dominance over their playmates and demand the immediate use of toys even if others are playing with them. The bully evolves into the gang leader. In adulthood there are those who believe that violence is the means to an end (usually the end that they want to achieve). It doesn’t stop there it expands to cultures, countries, religious communities, you name the group. There is someone trying to push their vision onto others using all and every means but especially violence. And then we get war. It pains me to think of the lives lost, the potential squandered, the tears shed. There is nothing praiseworthy about war. No matter how it is spun war is an expense that takes more than it gives and there really isn’t a winner – we all lose.