and rachael for her children cry

        “Mankind must put an end to war, or war will put an end
                              to man…”― John F. Kennedy

the fiercely barking hand grenades
          and other weapons wars have made
                    are never idle in the hands
                              of those who set out to invade
                    the sanctity of sovereign lands.

the military muscle might
          of killers who paint red the night
                    flex in the face of helpless souls
                              who yield to blood their last birthright
                    even before the death bell tolls.

the fallen, trampled in the trench
          amidst the rotting and the stench,
                    are there interred without a song.
no mercy drops the moment quench,
                    their carcases to none belong.

the children dying in the street,
          no morsel for their right to eat,
                    eyes staring wide, nowhere to hide,
                              no cushion from the battle heat:
                    staying alive is suicide.

the living and the dead crossbred,
          dead are the quick, quick are the dead.
                    and rachael for her children cry,
                              while peace is to the furnace fed.
                    no one remembers Adonai.

                                    © Copyright 2024 March 06
                                           by Clyve A. Bowen♫