Free the Guilty, Jail the Innocent / Revenge

Something I wrote 13 years ago (for reference, I'm 22) I added the third verse after I found the paper yesterday, just to keep it current.

A bomb goes off
Killing hundreds.
The killer gets off,
A city in shreds.

Reports say "T'was a Muslim!"
Fears are high.
Suddenly it's "Get 'em!"
"Rain bombs from the sky!"

Thirteen years passed
Where are we now?
Thousands dead,
Burned to the ground

Sacrifice thousands for one,
Yet the "One" is all that matters.
Not gonna rest,
'Til their heads're on platters.

But we never remember,
The thousands gone.
They've families too,
And they have a God.

And when we're wrong
And miss the target
We keep moving on,
and those left, we'll forget.

...




I wrote this when I was 8 years old, just after 09/11/01
There will always be "Someone", as is obvious.  But how many people died when we used Bunker Busters on buildings?  How many of them will be remembered?  How many of their families have been left starving?  Be honest; is revenge truly worth hundreds of thousands of lives?

This is also in response to the recent ISIS beheadings; We're enraged over reporters being beheaded, but not at the fact that innocents die during their daily routines when we bomb other countries?

Is Revenge Really Worth It?

Author's Note

Just my opinions. please be kind with this one. I was 8, after all.

This wasn't meant to be directed at Muslims specifically, but that's who we're fighting at the moment.

Reviews

[Alexa Tasch]

I don't know how you were this talented at eight. I freaking love this it is so deep and emotional and still so relevant in today's world. The best poetry not only evokes emotion but has an importance and meaning in the world.

I haven't read anything from you in a long time, but this is a great piece.

[MomzillaNC]

It's a complicated issue. The truth is, they've been at war with each other in that region for millennia. European crusades and colonialism sucked the West into their wars. We've been paying the price ever since. Then, in the Lincoln-era, the States jumped into the mess. Now, they're bringing their wars to the West. I really don't have the capacity to understand any of it. It's very disheartening.