For What Cause Is War? Poem by Elizabeth Padillo Olesen

For what cause is it
when bombs are thrown
at people's homes, shops
and schools and means to live on?

For what cause is it
when lives of young soldiers
and brave defenders die
over weapons and fires?

For what cause is it
should little children
cry for fear and hunger
while mothers cry
a sea of tears over
a lifeless child?

For what cause is it
when people must flee
from their childhood and history
away from terror that eats them alive?

For what cause
is achieved in crucifying love
only for wasted blood,
charred bodies, ruins, and ashes
from a war of madness?
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Russian Invasion in Ukraine 2022
10th day, written March 5,2022