The Waves of War

A poem for the fallen.

The Waves of War     original poem

By: SEEMSPOETIC

I've risen up from the bottom

I’ve free fallen from the top

I'm down to earth

But the free fall never stopped

I was eventually battered by the waves

Hit my head on the rocks

I drifted for days

I awoke surrounded by the ocean so misty and clouded in this grayish haze

Just like the sea

I felt sometimes so clear blue and so free

Then sometimes I felt as deep and as black as could be

The world had cast me away because I had questioned its wars

I had questioned its ways

Once again

The silver lining that had been behind this life had withered and frayed

As I looked around

Bullets began to stray

The ocean was flipped upside down

The sea floor became a battleground

Barbed wire raised

The ditches sunk

The scene unfolded into a battlefront

But that grayish haze didn't change

You couldn't mistake the sound  

The struggles

The shouts

The whizz of the bullets

The doubts

The moments of silence

I’m thrown back by the sight

The bloodshed

The violence

The sound and sight of artillery shells as they shatter the ground

Covered by the ash strewed grass

Once again

I'm thrown back

I was battered by the blast

I hit my head on a rock

Out cold

No longer than three minutes I'd last. . .

Bled out on the already blood stained grass

They arrived with a letter after only a day passed

My mother. . .

Her heart shattered like glass

My father. . .

To his knees he collapsed

An honorable death in the letter somewhere it read

But so many words left unsaid

Wasted life

Jesus Christ

What a pointless sacrifice

Sleepless nights

Sorrow filled flicker of the candle lights

Devastating letters to family. . .

Just wait till’ dad sees. . .

The 21 guns salute

The flag strewn casket

Inside his son. . .

Who he, himself, taught to shoot a gun at 6 years young

Lil’ sis’ still can't grasp it

Too young to understand the senselessness of a topic so sensitive

There truly is no sense in this

Our patriotic grievances

With all these wars and smothered grins

I wonder if anyone actually still believes in sins

I myself no longer see the light

I try so hard to catch another glimpse

I once saw it as a young boy

But then I grew up

The shadow of the real world was too immense

So it died out back then

I haven't seen it since

The human race

The United States

Says it strives for peace

Yet the world’s becoming more and more of a crazy place

They think being capable of the most destruction keeps us safe

Yet it's dangerous so they develop destructive weapons behind closed gates

The sins of humanity are clearly pointed out in our history

We've had two world wars soon to be three. . .

Undoubtedly. . .

Guess Planet Earth is now a wars world

It is this that makes the world so unworldly

One race

One world

Divided we've always stood

Divided we'll inevitably fall

Tripped over our own two feet

Caught up in the waves when our engines stall

Capsized by the waves of our history. . .

Sometimes so clear blue and so free

Then sometimes as deep and black as could be

History's developing a pattern so sink or swim won't matter

A shadow over our own people we so easily cast

Drowned in the darkness

Caused by the ignorance so easily hidden and masked

Caused by the heartless

So oblivious to the past

It's now just a matter of how long we can hold our breath

How long we'll last

One thousand years won't save our lives

But thousands of lives can be saved for a lifetime if we understand the fact that...

Wars don't determine who is right...

Only who is left

Only who is left to fight another day

It's sad to say

So sad to see

Wish these soldiers could come home and live happily

But when they close their eyes they see their brothers in arms meet their demise

Again and again and they beg and they beg

“Please god when does it end! ”

"What do you want from me? ”

"If it was only me and not them! "

“Why couldn't you have saved my friends? ”

“They were clearly the better men.”

They had wives

They had children

They had lives

Now what fills in?

A flag in a glass case

Right above the fireplace

A picture frame of their smiling face

An angel lost to amazing grace

A silent dinner table . . .

An empty space. . .

A whole future. . .

A whole life. . .

Gone and erased. . .

Lost to The Waves of War

Author's Note

Inspired by a composition titled "Free Our Fallen" by The Secession

Reviews

[preoccupied]

This piece flowed, honestly, quite well. That's tough to do with free-verses. But the topic of this is heavy and real, It makes you think so deeply, that's the part that really pulls you into the piece. After I read this poem I had to just sit for a minute to let my emotions sink in. If we just keep fighting and never really learn to achieve peace, we will ruin everything that has been and never truly progress in the right direction. We have these people willing to give up their lives when they shouldn't have to. This loop that we are for some reason stuck on needs to end.

This is an incredible and strong piece.

[m3lody mae]

Wow! this is one long write, but ever so good. Strong write

[Faust]

This was a great depiction of war. With war, we don't gain anything but death and greif.

-Emily

[tedefroberts]

Well, though I don't agree with the political aspects of your piece, I do commend you for your organization of thought (and your idealism). Good effort!

[Julie McCarthy (juliesp..]

a great tribute to men and women all over the world who have had to fight battles even from the dark ages.
this is very moving and the talent here is very raw and honest and stark i love this thanks for entry into my sounds comp

[Michael S]

Uplifting...Thought provoking and heart wrenching piece...Great Great write :-)
I loved it from the beginning to the end...
Waves of war bring lot of sacrifices with it
Brilliant :-)

[Bala Gorthi]

You show a pathetic reality raising those most authentic questions. The futility of the sacrifices rages the hearts. The whole write is a moving truth, leaving the heart heavy. The whole life of a soldier, a whole future gone and erased... Lost to the waves of heart..
A very touching reality in this outstanding write! Thank you for sharing Eric.

[calli]

Lovely Write Eric,This is very well done

[Katie Lynn]

I'm not normally a fan of free verse poetry, but I must say this certainly had me gripped right from the beginning. I couldn't stop reading. The depth of emotion is so dark and powerful, I simply loved it. Thank you, keep writing!

[Marianne Rose]

Powerful truth, captures the experience and the aftermath, the senselessness and devastation. Once again, I find hope that though we are generations apart, there are those, like you, who call us to make a lasting peace, stop making excuses, and put down our weapons and destructive power. It is obvious that you have been touched deeply by the losses of war, and are brave enough to use your voice to call out for us to end it.