Poppies (Veterans Day)

[Farkas]

The killing fields are peaceful where the poppies grow.
Millions of flowers turn their heads toward the sun.
A blood-red bloom honor each life lost, long ago.
They were sacrificial offerings to the gods of the gun.

The flower of humanity was trampled into the mud.
Between the lines, they were ravaged by a Maxim gun.
For duty, honor and country, they shed their blood.
Too many mothers and fathers lost their beloved son.

Let the poppies remind us of the sacrifice they made.
Let us honor each glorious bloom, one by one.
We must find a way to end the murderous charade.
Let us banish from our midst the disciples of the gun.

[Michaelwg3]

The blood of our ancestors, shed in vain for our inability to be more than the animals from which we evolved. Perhaps war is good, because we seem to love it so. We should ask the lost generations if their sacrifice was worth it. We have a holiday but nothing seems to have changed. I worry about my grandsons, in world where we can't seem to learn a simple lesson.

[Farkas]

Hi WG3

War seem to be a favorite pastime of the rich and powerful. Suffering is inconsequential when you have no skin in the game.
Thank you for your read and response.

[Liquid Bear]

I'm far from being a misanthrope but I do believe that, as long as there will be greed, there will be war. And as a long as there will be humans on Earth there will be greed. Still, we shouldn't stop writing poems such as yours, if only to stir a sense of shame in those who pit humans against each other for vain material profit, provided that such people possess a sense of shame. Well written.

Bear

[Farkas]

Hi bear

You are right about it all. Human nature must be changed if survival is the goal. Thanks for the read and insightful response.

[rupertpupkin]

Disturbing but wonderful write. Thought provoking and very well written. Well done on the spotlight