Demise

It is a machine
Millennia old;
Full of stories
Reluctant to be told.

War is a monster:
A great basilisk.
To compete with this behemoth
Is a great risk.

Many face with courage
Death and injury;
Many fall in glory
To battle’s dark fury.

Some fight for peace,
Some for freedom’s sake.
But, no matter what,
High are the stakes.

Nations have fallen,
War crimes committed.
Can peace ever last?
God forbid it!

Troops can’t be blamed
For the wars which they fight.
They go when they’re called
By the Commander in Chief’s might.

They deserve every ounce
Of support we can give.
For, without their devotion,
Where and how could we live?

They deserve respect,
Not anything less.
Destruction to hecklers
And those that oppress.

We should welcome them home,
Not spit in their face.
For they are a rare
And courageous race.

We take soldiers for granted
As they fight selflessly
And we sit and watch
Ungratefully.

They are a cursed bunch-
Soldiers that fight.
For the fate they are given
Is neither just nor right.

They must defend those
Who hate them
And smile at those
Who curse them.

Many must witness
Their own comrades fall:
A sight that is not
Humane at all.

Many live through
Their own mutilation,
Forever live with the scars
And humiliation.

War is evil:
A terrible wrath
For any who get caught
In it’s terrible path.

For even those
Fortunate enough to survive
Are still cursed with
Ultimate demise.