Man

By taking life what do we gain rendering us all one has owned Do we inherit sorrowed pain for our own failure to have grown

             

Many men awed by another

have then sought out their fellows land

Man shall turn brother on brother

to steal of him his woman's hand

 

How do we claim the virtue love

yet pray to our war in the same

We speak of peace from up above

then kill each other in his name

 

By taking life what do we gain

rendering all someone may own

Do we inherit sorrowed pain

for our own failure to have grown

 

I see good men, both meek and mild

but those who kill so needlessly

Take life of someone’s loving child

depleting all humanity

 

What will they say when we're no more

beware those who kill their own kind

We will become what all deplore

until only the wind you'll find

 

Author's Note

A simple note to mark the passing of the human race. If we continue to mortgage our children's futures, someday we will be a footnote to history.

Reviews

[Loner]

An awesome write Tate , such depth in your poem shows how deep a man can be and yet no woman is able to understand him , or lets say man has yet to understand women.

[Elwina]

Very nice as it grows in power over the stanzas.
My favs are the last 2 ones, very meaningful.

[Cherrie Palmer]

now that has power, and can effect those who are willing

[MuSe Ampoule]

If we make it as a footnote in history I would be impressed...mostly I think the shame of what we have done and are doing to barter just a little more time by borrowing from future generations will make them want to simply forget us. A profound write appropriate for this day's climate. If I leave this world free of debt, and with the ability to provide my children and grandchildren with a little, then I'll have left this world better than my forefathers. Preach it Tate.

[Rick Puetter]

Dear Tate,

Again, wonderful sentiment.

To me the best stanza was:

"What will they say when we're gone
beware those who kill their own kind
As they will destroy all that is
until only the wind you'll find"

A true condemnation of what Man is doing to himself (and the world). How is it that we can be so contradictory. We espouse the highest of aspirations yet in a moment of anger we become the maddened animal, seeing only red, forgetting high principle, concerned only with the kill.

We have a long way to go. Maybe we will leave only the wind behind.

Best regards,

Rick

[Emily Filkins]

well written
i loved it
nice flow, so true
good job

[theunionisloud]

Well spoken, well written... there's not much else to add. I think if the entire world read this poem, it might save us. Peace.

[SpokenWord]

I never understood how any religion including my own could kill in the name of God it just doesn't make sense to me at all. Yes that part of your poem stuck out the most to me. I no longer believe that man can change from the course we are on. We consume at a rate that is destroying the earth and maybe it is already too late for us. We will continue to mortgage our children's futures but what is really going to kill us is the day we run out of oil and that day is coming.

[Dane Osborne]

Anger yet sympathy. When I read this peice i sense i feel a struggle between the two but yet sympathy wins out. Your use of ryhme was masterful and normally I don't get into ryhme, which would show that you know your stuff.

As the old Jim Croce song went "One hand on the bible, one hand on the gun". I gave up trying to make any coherent sense out of the general population a long time ago. Well done sir, this is going into my library.

[Charles]

We might already be a footnote and not know it. This is a rather obvious statement of what war does to humanity and is well done. It does beg the question about how to deal with aggressors, but that might be the subject of another poem. Any apostrophes missing? :-)