'Why Do We Go To War? ' Poem by Brian James Caffrey

Why do we go to war these days with all our 'civilized' ways?
Bullets whizing past, bombs hail their unmerciful blasts,
Clouds of dust plume, darkness on the battlefield looms,
Men taking their last breath awaiting their impeding death.

For what grievance do they owe this horror?
People on both sides lost their lives,
And for what honour?
To be forgotten by those they died for?
To be permanently lost to their families, what were those tears they cried for?

Bodies lie mangled and rotten,
All their cries of pain, forgotten,
Lifeless testaments to Man's great shame,
Killing the innocents of our time,
These are our Brothers and Sisters that must suffer this horrid crime.

Men disappear in a flash,
Letters from loved ones lost in the crater,
This futile conflict, a circus of human frailty,
The blood is on those who so vehemently oppose these natives.

Such hatred they breed fuelled by their heartless greed,
Bloodlust and revenge are Man's modern creed,
True Patriotism is lost, at such a cost,
Replaced with a lie for those who wish to kill and die,
For a country unworthy of their blood.