War And Love

O winds of war;

The frost you beckon,

That crimson ice-fire,

Beguiles youthful soldiers;

You veil them

In roseate fog;

The snow muffles shrieks;

And war’s terror ,in thy night,

Remains concealed.

 

But when the fog recedes:

 

Corpses alight

In a star-full night,

Starving buzzards

Like warplanes dive;

Clash of claw and meat.

 

Soldier’s remorse

Stains the snow,

With crystal tears,

It seals an empty vow:

‘Tis the vow of love

That ev’ry man doth keep;

Yet it’s easily broken,

Like a Ming vase

Full of crimson roses.