I am the man who loved his country
The first of many follies
Beyond reason, o’er kith and kin
For a cause that wasn’t a cause
I am the man you should call brave
Only now I see the thin line
The invisible one that says
Sometimes Naive masks as Brave
I am the woman who left for war
Knowing I might not return
Might be killed or wounded
Or become a prisoner of war
I am the combatant
Who is missing in action
The unknown soldier
The one who was never found
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Indeed there are many of those – in Nigeria, in Syria, in Kenya, in Sudan, in Tunisia, Kuwait – everywhere, where there is blood-shed and turbulence. Where many ate dying for un-clarified, ill-understood causes.
And as they die, it is sad that they take many with them… most of them, broken hearts.
Welldone, Zika
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Thanks TM. I agree with you. There are lots of broken hearts at the end of the day. Of what use is it then? The fighting and all?😕
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Believe me, Zika, I used to ask same question, now I ask, ‘why don’t we fight back?’
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Because there really is no just cause, sis. Just some person’s selfish agenda. That’s why.☺
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I guess you’ve got a point, Zika. But the way they are going, they’ll have us all wiped out if nothing’s done. But God forbid!
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Well dear. God does forbid 😀
Oh dear, I had so much fun on this particular post.☺ Now I know one more thing that people are earnest to talk about.
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Lol
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That’s a heartbreaking poem. I love it how successfully you assumed the voice of the men and women lost in war. Excellent job. Thank you for sharing!
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Thanks Mara
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Nicely worded wisely Zee, I likey very much and it does draw some serious attention to the plight of the ‘altruists’….the unsung heroes! ‘Being a hero is about the shortest lived profession on Earth’, says the American Cowboy and Humorist, Will Rogers! 😂😂
Beyond reason you say Zee, and I wanna believe that these precious ones who choose to die for others and their country by extension, are truly patriots and honorable; as long as they weren’t obliged to do so under any form of duress and infact did derive some form of fulfillment, accomplishment and sense of purpose doing so! The two most important days in the life of a man’s the day he’s born, and the day he discovers his true purpose for which he was made! William Blake says….
‘Love seeketh not itself to please, nor for itself hath any care; but for another gives its ease and builds a Heaven in Hell’s despair’! As long as the Earth remains, we’d most definitely find diamonds, who were made to serve and die for others, and they’d feel an absolute sense of completeness doing so, otherwise; they’d be unfulfilled and empty….beyond reason! And that, is love in action, unspoken; its rawest, truest form! 😉😄
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Thanks Yemie. In fact, you just gave me back my favorite quote : the 2 most important days in the life of a man are 1. the day he was born and 2. the day he finds out why. To be honest though, I’m not for fighting in any form at all, least of all the senselessness that characterises much of today’s wars and conflicts, which is why I would personally not advocate the life of a soldier for anyone. Some never even get found at the end of the day, much less get a befitting burial. And to think that the major thing behind it all is just to feed the pride of a minority 😈…
As John Pepper Clark said in his poem, which you’ll please permit me to paste here, with wars, no one’s a winner. We’re all casualties. Thanks so much for looking in sweets. You rock always.
Here goes:
The casualties are not only those who are dead;
They are well out of it.
The casualties are not only those who are wounded,
Thought they await burial by installment
The casualties are not only those who have lost
Person or property, hard as it is
To grape for a touch that some
May not know is not there
The casualties are not those led away by night;
The cell is a cruel place, sometimes a heaven,
No where as absolute as the grave
The casualties are not those who started
A fire and now cannot put to out. Thousands
Are burning that had no say in the matter.
The casualties are not only those who escaping
The shattered shell become prisoners in
A fortress of falling walls.
The casualties are many, and a good number well
Outside the scene of ravage and wreck;
They are the emissaries of rift,
So smug in smoke-room they haunt abroad,
They are wandering minstrels who, beating on
The drum of human heart, draw the world
Into a dance with rites it does not know
The drum overwhelm the guns…
Caught in the clash of counter claims and charges
When not in the niche others have left,
We fall.
All casualties of war,
Because we cannot hear other speak,
Because eyes have ceased to see the face from the crowd,
Because whether we know or
Do not know the extent of wrong on all sides,
We are characters now other than before
The war began, the stay- at- home unsettled
By taxes and rumor, the looter for office
And wares, fearful everyday the owners may return,
We are all casualties,
All sagging as are
The case celebrated for kwashiorkor,
The unforeseen camp-follower of not just our war.
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Wow! That’s such a deep, highly meaningful poem Zee! I agree also that in times if war, there are no winners but its just what it is dear! As long as the Earth remains, there can never be absolute peace here! You’d always find trouble shooters, sadists and oppressor…Satan’s messengers seeking to disturb the peace and cause havoc, case in point; Boko Haram! In the same vein, you’ll find selfless men and women, who’ll rise up to fighting off these miscreants, not minding to give up their lives that humanity might be preserved and they’d be quite happy doing so! To say there will never be war on the Earth, can only be a possibility if the Devil that possesses some folks to act like beasts; is finally arrested! Otherwise, fat chance!!!! 😂😂😂
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And you can be sure he will, dear. God has a set time limit for him. Of that, we can all be certain
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Hehehe! I know darl, until then; I’d keep my lighters up for everyone, be they missionaries in war torn and ravaged regions of the Earth or the military; who brave it all, against all odds to bring back sanity to our world, at the cost of their own lives and comfort! God bless each and everyone of ’em and may He give ’em victory on every front IJN, Amen! To the deceased and unsung heroes, I celebrate them all, now and for always! Thanks for sharing dear, rock ye on! 😉❤
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