Glorious War

Glorious War

Speak not to me
Of the glory of war.
War is not glorious
It is an evil beast unleashed by man
Upon his fellow man.
It devours men and women
It chews them up
And spits them out
Sometimes dead, always damaged.

War has no rhyme or reason
And no moral or ethical code
It sucks the blood and lives
from many on the orders of the few
It tears families and countries asunder
For greed, or land, or religion
It wipes out human life
In hundreds, in thousands
And leaves survivors maimed
In body and mind.

And war comes in many forms
In foreign lands, or on home soil
Against massed armies
Or solitary zealots
But whatever its form
There is no glory in war

But there is glory
And dignity in the main
For those who wage war
Whether you agree with war
Or condemn it vocally
Recognise the bravery, the heroism,
Sometimes even the glory
Of those who gave their lives
in days gone by
So that we may live our lives for years to come.