The Reality of War

It had been an intense yet entirely pointless battle,

Many were slaughtered as if they were merely cattle.

I’d thought I was doing something noble and pious,

But all that ensued was absurd fracas.

I fought fiercely and it never once entered my head,

That I was a pawn, being used for innocent bloodshed.

Soon my baby brother joined the fray,

He and I were both being led astray.

They were removing our core,

We were becoming enslaved to the evil that is war.

I’d never have agreed to go if I had known,

Such places aren’t fit for women that are alone.

I got captured and was subject to torture,

It was I who had to give birth to the creature.

I then escaped back to whence I came,

I now knew that this was not a game.

I would never be the same for sure,

I was yet another victim of the war.

I return to see the unrecognisable face of my brother,

He gives me a look of shock horror.

I try to tell him that it is not my fault,

I was the victim of an indecent and vicious assault.

Still he looks at me in shame,

As if I were the one to blame.

I know then that he shall tell the world,

I used to look at him as if he were impearled.

As he turns away he calls me a whore,

I have no choice but to use the skills I have gained during the war.

Leaving behind family, friends and foes, I board the train

Eyes transfixed on the shells that caused us soldiers so much pain.

Quick, one last look at my fallen brother,

A look that will last forever.

There he is lying amongst the rubble,

Why, oh why did he have to bring upon my heart so much trouble?

I glance back at the once beautiful hills,

Now splattered with gruesome kills.

I should have been horrified by what I saw,

But instead my feelings have been taken by war.

Almost time to get off the train,

No effect whatsoever upon the brain,

No account of time,

Mind still on crime,

Not flattered by the sudden jolts,

Wouldn’t matter if they were lightning bolts.

Surrounded by soldiers that have become lame,

Soldiers that will never be the same.

Their lives to be haunted... forever,

Peace they will receive... never.

I ask myself “what is it for?”

“What is the point of war?”

Almost time to get off the train,

Amidst all the tension I feel like Cain.

I feel like I have spilt my own blood,

My heart is now beating with an almighty thud.

The train has stopped,

The atmosphere has dropped,

The doors are now open,

The reality hits us that hearts will be broken.

I get up as if in a trance,

I walk off the train and take a glance

More in hope than anticipation,

My pleading eyes now squinted in concentration.

My heart is beating more and more,

I scream out, "Mother, I'm back from war!"

Gone is the train,

Yet I'm still shouting in vain.

Then I spot her and drop to my knees,

She is relieved by what she sees.

Then she searches for my departed brother

And realises there is not another.

A solitary tear tells her what is to be told,

She has no more tears, her heart has become cold.

She has lost all faith in law,

She and I have no more time for war.

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