War Talk
The world owes much to the men and women in its armed forces wherever they may be. Nor should we ever forget that we owe as much if not more to their families and friends (along with everyone else) who, time and time again, are called upon to pick up the pieces of life, love and hope whenever and wherever lives fall apart; a time of peace, for some if not most of us can be another kind of war.
“Never think that war, no matter how necessary, nor how justified, is not a crime.” - Ernest Hemingway
Yet, justify it, we invariably do if only by that old stand-by, rhetoric.
Poor humanity, ever caught in a cross-fire of words,
come worst of all worlds
Copyright R. N. Taber 2012; 2018
[Note: An earlier version of this poem appears under the title 'Next of Kin have been Informed, but should Refrain from Asking Questions' in Tracking the Torchbearer by R. N. Taber, Assembly Books, 2012.]
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