War and Peace (a poem)

War and Peace (a poem)

Suck into man is war
hammered into man is peace
and both are disturbed equally
consciously
clumsily.

Educators,
politicians,
generals,
from laziness or habit
or even natural cursedness,
give defense for the dead,
and the uncorrelated systems
they vaguely know, yet support,
uninterested in the comfort
of others, only
in the (or their) masterwork,
and their exulted positions.
Nor are they interested in
the systems—per se,
that produced this cumbrous
and inefficient
way of unrewarded hopes
passions, laundry bills,
erotic experiences
to the young soldier,
and to the people of a nation
and thrust the young soldiers
(who fight for principle or flamboyant
experiences), thus,
into harms way they are sent,
considered freedom fighters.

They think we are above the Odssey,
Or the Chancon de Roland, but
we are still in the Middle Ages,
still back at Troy
trying to get out of its flames;
only literature has changed
(but not in words or deeds,
rather in scarcity).

The soldiers only ask
to be remembered;
the war now considered
along with the views
of the war makers
“…are they sill valid?”
and most often,
“…had they been
very intelligent,”
in the first place?”
“Miscalculations!”
someone screams.
Another voice says:
“Comparative to what
war?”

A nation tranquilized,
family’s low-brow now!
It’s all in American tastes,
is it not…
((or the nation at war) (but
America seems always
to be at war, does it not?))
but more derivative.

I found the greater
darkness
in the children
considered the hope
of a country;
literate, and forthcoming,
fortnightly
premature,
once they have
killed a cat,
the scarcity
of killing is dead,
so summons the
hasty soldier
onto war.

Onto war I say,
and ready to invest
his life into his country,
disparate to be of value.
Who wrote these
satiric verses
for him to remember?
Someone blatant,
for organic
stupidity;
it is all too
ambiguous for the
young mind to
digest
or defuse
if he tries
his mind becomes
fragmentary,
unorganized,
for the educators,
the generals and
the politicians
have given him
various
volumes, in each age
to look at
(read, study—
throughout his life,
even his parents
gave him toy guns
at the age of ten),
now his brain is diluted,
and modified:
war is tattooed
inside of him,
his cerebellum.

So what do we do
(if anything)?
perhaps give him
forty versions of
the Chaucerian
for a anecdote?
I do not mean
to get you sidetracked,
comparing philosophy,
(I am not)
with grandiose figures;
nor comparing personal habits.
Let us by all means—though
glance at philology
—for in
all languages,
as most historians
or psychologists, or
war college professors,
will tell you
there are certain
attributes, each
country of war
preys on
(yes, we are guilty
of having the animal
hunter in us, and thus
we plunder
and victimize,
oppress).

And yes, yes indeed,
war is permitted
as a subject of study,
and its study is so
designed as to
draw the mind of the
soldier, or warrior
(to be),
away from leading
freely,
into the insanity,
to follow—blindly:
even in America.

#2154 1-15-2008


Notes: The Song of Rolan: La Chanson de Roland about (French) 1140 – 1170 AD, a historical incident, battle, and tragedy, the trapped soldiers were slaughtered to a man; among them was. Although it was written in 1140 AD, it was foretold around 830 AD, being the about a battle that took place in 778 AD. This song, or poem, lives on of course, and now and especially in its day, it gave man a warlike example for them to follow, and aroused the fighters that were to be...

Geoffrey Chaucer, whom is quoted in my poem, is of course the one and only who wrote the Canterbury Tales, we have what is called “The Knight’s Tale,” and again to make my point in long term conditioning, we see the representing rebellion, or so I feel. If you wish, we can perhaps try to draw a comparison with the famous and heroes of mine at time in my life, Theses, a warrior of course. In both cases we can draw a line near dramatic conflict. My point being, our literature is full of war and peace, and who does want to be look upon as a hero, especial the kid down the block that has a hard time trying to make it through school, whose parents hardly can hold a job, thus they go to war, and become all they can become.