Hate not, Fear not

Robert von Ranke Graves

     Kill if you must, but never hate:
         Man is but grass and hate is blight,
     The sun will scorch you soon or late,
         Die wholesome then, since you must fight.

     Hate is a fear, and fear is rot
         That cankers root and fruit alike,
     Fight cleanly then, hate not, fear not,
         Strike with no madness when you strike.

     Fever and fear distract the world,
         But calm be you though madmen shout,
     Through blazing fires of battle hurled,
         Hate not, strike, fear not, stare Death out!

Every day I select a war poem, and respond to it, generally in poetic form. But perhaps not. Each poem grabs at something a little differently. Sometimes the themes blend together, sometimes they contradict. Many poets, were veterans themselves, others not. Their perspectives vary, and the poetry does in response. I’ll continue to do this as long as I keep finding poetry that explores novel or meaningful themes. You know, until the well runs dry.

Us and them

It isn’t about you, me, us, but them
A mother, sister, brother, father, home
Maybe a girl, she doesn’t know me…yet

Sometimes it isn’t about them, or you
But them, beside me, my brothers and sisters
Us against you, you chose today, and us

We, this, you could have waved hello
Shared chai, laughter, but not you, or us
You chose us, RPG, AK, IED, we chose us too

We would again, choose our brothers, sisters
Here and home, not you, we never choose you
We did choose here, or they did, because of you

They chose us, offered us, recruited us, those they’s
Pushed us forward, to meet you, now us, together
Always us, never they, without them, no us

Photo by Kalen Emsley on Unsplash