War is contradictory
It fills the eye
A powerful, implacable beauty
They were kids; they just didn’t know
Trust him with your life
Things often took on a curiously playful atmosphere
Made the war seem almost beautiful
Just another name for death
Jesus, man, don’t kill me
Bad stuff never stops happening
Replaying itself over and over
Every sin’s real fresh and original
Makes the stomach believe
Now it was a question of pain
No safe ground: enemies everywhere
Nakedly and aggressively boring
You won’t believe
When he died it was almost beautiful
Break his own nose
Kept hitting him, over and over
I feel guilty sometimes
You’re pinned down by a war you never felt more at peace
All that peace, man, it felt so good it hurt. I want to hurt it back.
Wasn’t a great deal of pity
I mean, christ, I’m just a boy.
I loved the way you captured the feeling in the book. I really like your poem, I think it's great!
ReplyDeleteGreat poem Esther! I love the lines where you talk about how the men going of to war are just boys who were naive about the consequences of fighting.
ReplyDeleteThis really gave a good perspective on war. I love how you began and ended with "They were kids" and then ending with "I'm just a boy". Really really well done.
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