Plea to the Warriors

by Stephen Gospage

Tuesday 27th December 2022 5:17 pm

If you cry out loud that you favour peace,

A lot of people look at you and smile

And mark you as naïve and pat your head.

Yet surely peace should be the normal way;

Backers of war should justify their stance,

The four-star pundits, dealing arms of death,

Indoctrinating young (and mostly) men

To jump to commands and to kill each other

And all who block their path. The road to peace

Is to disobey, refuse the madness,

And not to blindly murder for a state.

There can be no war without warriors,

Just a helpless residue of old sweats.

Put down your weapons; come over to peace.

Comments

Stephen Gospage

Thu 29th Dec 2022 14:44

Thanks, Uilleam. Yes, indeed it is.

And my thanks to Frederick, John, Hugh, Rudyard and Holden for liking this poem.

Uilleam Ó Ceallaigh

Thu 29th Dec 2022 12:59

Thank you for your efforts Stephen.

I believe it's a truly insane world in which major arms companies are sponsoring events such as Remembrance Sunday and other related events.

Stephen Gospage

Wed 28th Dec 2022 09:19

I am so pleased that you liked and shared this poem, Hélène. I found Stephanie's response inspiring, especially the idea that there are so many opportunities 'to disrupt the drumming march of war'.

In the end, war depends upon ordinary citizens (whether they are converted into soldiers, engineers, cooks, factory workers) being cowed into supporting the effort. I think of the Christmas truce in WWI, when, just for a few short moments, British and German soldiers hesitated after being ordered by their officers to separate and start fighting again. What if they had all refused? It could have led to a wonderful peace. Who knows?

Thanks again to you and Stephanie, and to Greg, Nigel and K Lynn for liking this poem.

Hélène

Wed 28th Dec 2022 05:23

I sent the poem "Plea to the Warriors" to my sister Stephanie, & it inspired her to write this:

"There can be no war without munition workers and engineers.
War requires supply chains, financiers and taxed citizens.
With so many opportunities to disrupt the drumming march of war,
step aside and watch the lockstep crumble.
War’s existence despite resistance
is unfathomable. Peace inevitable."

Hélène

Tue 27th Dec 2022 18:42

I am going to email this poem to family & friends. It is like a prayer. Thank you Stephen.

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Plea to the Warriors

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