The Two Faces Of War

Paul Bell

The rain washed the blood away
And for a time I became human again
Children with dead eyes
Play amongst corpses rotting in the morning sun
A father prays to some god
Hoping for a miracle
Abound by his faith
Certainly a deeper faith than mine
For the moment only the gun is god
In these quiet times
I think of people sitting at desks
Being productive
Dreaming dreams better than mine
Building a future
The survivor alarm kicks in
I've been here too long
The scene changes
The father has found his god
For a time he becomes a soldier
Two gods about to collide
One through total frustration
The other with the dimension of time
He once read a book
The romance of war
He always thought the title should have read
The two faces of war
The bullet killed him instantly
Tomorrow he would be another rotting corpse
No romance there
People at desks building futures
Children with dead eyes play in the morning sun.

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Comments4

  • Garth Rakumakoe

    This is epic, Paul. The grim contrasts of two worlds in real time, the abstract faith, the peeling of paint from the wall, desolate kind of feeling. It feels like you were there, as I was reading it. I am so moved, I am out of words. Absolutely epic!

    • Paul Bell

      Thanks, Garth.

    • Fay Slimm.

      Stark from beginning to end but such a powerful read Paul - - war has its face painted to appear in the right but oh how wrong can killing the innocents be - a read to remember and thanks for sharing its message.

      • Paul Bell

        War for the politicians to look good.

      • Goldfinch60

        Wonderful words Paul. The saddest of life in our world, may peace come to our lives at some stage.

        Andy

      • spilleronsheet

        So true dear poet
        The soldiers out there fighting for peace
        But how can war be a solution to peace
        We don’t want fights at the cost of human lives
        What’s glory and romance in separation from family
        A child growing up without a father or mother who is serving for the nation
        What a dark imprint it leaves in his mind
        Can anything suffice that I wonder
        Those lines you used are the best that describes
        The sufferings a soldier goes through both physically and immensely is beyond our imaginations

        • Paul Bell

          Yes, war really is a total waste of time. Afghanistan, just the end of a long line of them.



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