There Should Be. Poem by Michael Walker
There Should Be.
There should be a cure for cancer by now,
new drugs tested by the FDA and improved technology:
proton beam radiation, brachytherapy and radiotherapy.
There is a cure, partly.
There should be a resolution to the dispute, like a cancer,
between Israel and the Palestinians, who live in the West Bank
and the Gaza Strip, dispossessed people without a country.
The two-state solution is yet to be.
There should have been lasting peace after the Second World War theater;
instead there has been a stream of wars in the Middle East,
Korea, Vietnam and Iraq, some with a progressive outcome, some not.
Republics of perpetual peace are few.
All New Zealanders should find peace of mind with jobs and houses;
yet I have seen men in tatters out in the cold and homeless.
-1 November,2019.
Israel became a state in 1948, occupying territory which had been occupied by Arab Palestinians. Israel has won the three wars against Arab countries since then: 1948,1967 and 1978. These were short wars. The 1967 war was one week.
I have listed only some of the wars after World War II. Vietnam was clearly won by the Viet Cong of North Vietnam in 1975, which unified that country. The Korean War of 1950-1953 ended in a stalemate at the 38th. parallel, the border between Communist North Korea and the democratic South Korea. U.N. troops played a big part fighting with South Korea in that conflict. The U.S. Marines also fought for South Korea, pushing well into North Korea, before two armies from China drove them back southwards. The Marines retreated in freezing conditions-'Frozen Chosun'. General Douglas MacArthur was Supreme Commander of the Marines and the U.N. troops, and although his strategy liberated Seoul, President Truman recalled him in 1951.
The DMZ (Demilitarized Zone) divides North and South Korea to this day. Syngman Ree, the South Korean President, had agreed to the 1953 border, but never signed any agreement with the North.
The poem as well as the Poet's Notes are immensely thought provoking. While I firmly believe that much breakthrough has been achieved in the field of cancer research but a lot needs to be done. In mid 80's my father had throat cancer which was diagnosed and cured through removal of his vocal chord.
There should have been lasting peace after the Second World War theater; instead there has been a stream of wars in the Middle East, Korea, Vietnam and Iraq, some with a progressive outcome, some not. .Republics of perpetual peace are few." .......so touching and true. We need Peace. You have brilliantly inscribed this poem. Thanks for sharing.
You encapsulate the main themes of the poem very well, thanks. I wonder how much longer wars will go on, thus preventing world peace.
Thanks for commenting so positively. I do seek to express emotion in a poem, which I have to feel genuinely. Thought, obviously, is as important as emotion.
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem
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4/28/2024 4:41:27 AM # 1.0.0.1119
(2) But, the situation with regard to international disputes, the things are not so facile. Each country has the backing of another military super power with its own vested interests. Under these circumstances, disputes are dragged indefinitely without solution.