THE SHADE OF WARFARE




As I slowly walked homeward
with my rifle and my pack
a young man stopped me suddenly
and this took me quite aback
for he could not know I was already dead
he could not see the scars
that have covered my whole body
since I went off to fight the wars.
He first asked about the rifle
which I carry on my shoulder
and when at first I did not reply
he grew a little bolder
and he asked about the ribbons
that my tunic proudly bore
and would he be able to get some
if he went off to war ?
How his family would miss him
but he'd return a conquering saviour
and wouldn't they be proud of him
if he went to be a soldier ?
To face the foe in far off lands
with not a trace of fear
unlike those who talk, but never go,
who fight battles from the rear.

When at last he'd finished talking
he looked straight into my eyes
and he must have been astounded
when he glimpsed The Reaper's scythe
For I am everyman
who has fought and slain and died
I have felt the vanquished's sorrow
I have felt the victor's pride
I've felt the rending of the flesh
The sudden loss of limb
The stench of death and its decay
as bullets shred the skin
But I had finally relinquished hate
and upon my own volition
before Lucifer had won my soul
and damned it to perdition...

So I looked at him in sadness
and a tear came to my eye
and I spoke to him in gentleness
for I had to ask him why ?
Could he not see the heartache
he would bring upon this earth
Just to maim and kill for decades more...
Was that the reason for his birth ?
For man is not just put here
to bring destruction to other races
and he would surely see that
if he looked deep into people's faces
For men are men the whole world ‘round
and should this be their fate
To fight for thirty centuries
just for bigotry and hate ?
So go home young man and think again
Don't decide in too much haste
This life is yours but only once
and to lose it is a waste
For should you choose to ignore my words
and you feel you have to go
Just pray you do not see the fields
where the wooden crosses grow.