Realpolitik Poem by ivor or ivor.e hogg

A trumpet blared defiantly.
Into a hell of shot and shell,
a gallant charge of cavalry
But few survived their tale to tell.

There is no place in modern war
for such outmoded strategy.
More suited to the days of yore.
Today there is no chivalry.

You must defeat the enemy.
Attempt to take him by surprise
and gain superiority
by any method you can devise.

Improving your technology.
You have to strive to keep abreast,
increasing your ability
To kill more quickly than the rest.

The rules of war are broken by
most nations when its suits their book.
They are prepared to cheat and lie.
They mean to win by hook or crook.


The winners write the history.
Which proves that they were innocent.
They could have been quite possibly
Devoid of any ill intent.

I find it difficult to believe.
Perhaps I am too sceptical
of the facts I can retrieve.
from stories that are typical.

Attempts to prove the enemy
were without doubt the ones to blame.
Proclaim themselves to be guilt free.
All part and parcel of the game.

The winners speak eloquently
The losers are denied a chance
to state their case with clarity.
In the prevailing circumstance.

The tales you read of chivalry.
may serve quite well to entertain.
The tales of friendly rivalry
Cannot be true: I must maintain.

I try to keep an open mind.
When I am reading history.
But the anomalies I find.
Merely serve to convince me.

The first casualty in any war.
Is the plain truth, it has to be.
As the opponents jockey for
their chance to rewrite history.

Lies damn lies and statistics prove
Exactly what the victors choose.
It seem historians approve
Perhaps they have too much to lose.

25/08/2009
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