Victim Of War Poem by Jan Oskar Hansen

A victim of war

His country had gone to war ostensibly against a fascist state
which Gregory the 19 years old man, found strange it was
his country doing the invading.

The propaganda had been relentless, the great patriotic war
that had killed millions of people of his nation, made it clear
his destiny was to help win this war.

The pressure from his family was strong the jingoism strong
the propaganda that vilified the enemy, bore fruit
Gregory who hated guns and violence finally joined the army.

After training as a soldier, found himself in enemy territory
marching towards a town he had never heard of, someplace
on the enormous expand land for growing wheat.

Somewhere in a hollow of this landscape bushes and a few trees
he was glad to see greenery and looking up the sky was blue.
Gregory didn't hear the shot, he died with his boots on.