Brotherly Love

Those who live forever bonded round a fire and hearth, spin their tales Are stories truly worth the cost of a poor mother's cries and wails

Two friends upon a battlefield

one left on the ground as he dies

In a foxhole, the other sits

listening to his mate's poor, cries

 

The first man wanted to save his mate

but the Sergeant said, not to go

"You'll only kill yourself instead"

"I can't leave him that's all I know"

 

The Sergeant went to turn away

as the first man dove from the hole

"I have to save my friend," he said

"if it costs my immortal, soul"

 

Minutes later he slid back in

clutching his dead friend, in his arms

Mortally wounded, he was now

blood was pouring, from both forearms

 Laid to rest within his friends arms

"a waste" said the Sergeant, to some

"When I found him, he was alive

his last breath said" "I knew you'd come"

 

Those who live forever bonded

round a fire and hearth, tell the tales

Are stories told, worth the cost

of a poor mother's, cries and wails

 

Ask a man to die for country

he will die for his friend instead
But no matter why it happens

the poor man is still surely dead

 

Could we strive to be something more

than a tombstone, upon the ground

Is death the true test of friendship

when Taps plays, the ultimate sound

 

If we don't learn to love, brothers

extinction will be how Man ends

It's hard to live a life of pride

at the cost of so many friends

 

 

Author's Note

Christ said " No greater love has any man than to lay down his life for a friend"
While war seems the ultimate test of this tenant. It is the ultimate shame of humanity. While I see the need of it in WW1 and WW2. These skirmishes since have been needless waste. Humanity will destroy itself if it doesn't stop this. If we don't find the way to forgo war we will all surly die from the shame of it. The countless women and children killed by it are enough reason.

Reviews

[A. Fischer]

Great write!

[patricia]

I particularly liked your use of the word 'dove' in this poem. A thought provoking theme too! I sometimes wish they would highlight more ...some of the other heartaches of war...there were those who were shot at dawn for instance. I don't know the answers to these sort of poems. Thankyou

[Hayley]

Incredible. I actually started to tear up, and I think maybe that might have to do with the emotions tied with the upcoming 10th anniversary of 9/11. Your words speak the ultimate truth and sacrifice.
Friendship is something that is so important to everyone. Touching piece, my friend.

[Becky C Strukamp]

An outstanding poem. This brings tears and heartfelt emotions for those who serve, die, and their families. Thanks for this poem to remind us all, we are all in this together and we are all brothers and sisters.

[angelina]

i like it!! but humans are fickle beings. they want one thing and then the other. at what price, no one will know. greed may not be at the forefront of the mind, but there is always want, and if we play in the hands of what we want, then the world suffers. but then again if not for these wants then what we see today and what makes living the way we are now, will not be. the price will be paid, but its amatter of how it will be paid.

[Sunni Davis]

Such a powerful story here. Once again, you've written a poem that brought tears to my eyes.

[Rikkevi Rue]

great writing Mr Morgan. Indeed the question is raised again and again and noone any closer to the answer to mans inhumanity to man...there is for sure a deeply seated non-survival tendency that is given rein too often. The good men of the earth must fight for peace and human rights, true justice and decency, for it is not borne of itself! Thank you for carrying the torch my friend

[cartera]

No doubt that love and forgiveness are the answer. The World Wars inspired a lot of anti-war poetry but I do not see much coming from Iraq or Afghanistan. Mayb e you are the first.
ATB
Alex.

[Andy Ruffett]

You've inspired me to post this song that I wrote with my friends Scott Milos and James Milos a long time ago:

War & Peace

Population makes a mess of things but all we do is complain
Why do we complain when we make it all with our mindless hopes for fun?
This is the world (hello, hello, goodbye) that I’m fearing
This is the world that I’m hearing (hello, hello, goodbye)

Chorus
If the world had no war just peace, everything else would be neat
No pollution or greed, no one fighting over another
If the world had just war no peace, everything else would be weak
Black skies everywhere, the ozone layer opening up,
Dead bodies scattered everywhere, even blood on your favourite chair
And a man about to shoot a guy because he wanted the red box instead of the blue one

Greed, everyone has it, but some use it more than others
Why do we have it when all we need is health?
But we use if for toys
This is the world (hello, hello, goodbye) that I’m fearing
This is the world that I’m hearing (hello, hello, goodbye)

Chorus
If the world had no war just peace, everything else would be neat
No pollution or greed, no one fighting over another
If the world had just war no peace, everything else would be weak
Black skies everywhere, the ozone layer opening up,
Dead bodies scattered everywhere, even blood on your favourite chair
And a man about to shoot a guy because he wanted the red box instead of the blue one

War, why do we do it when the outcome is always death?
Why do we want it when all we get is pain?
And we lose the people we love

Chorus
If the world had no war just peace, everything else would be neat
No pollution or greed, no one fighting over another
If the world had just war no peace, everything else would be weak
Black skies everywhere, the ozone layer opening up,
Dead bodies scattered everywhere, even blood on your favourite chair
And a man about to shoot a guy because he wanted the red box instead of the blue one



Chorus
Listen everyone! If the world had no war just peace, everything else would be neat
No pollution or greed, no one fighting over another
If the world had just war no peace, everything else would be weak
Black skies everywhere, the ozone layer opening up,
Dead bodies scattered everywhere, even blood on your favourite chair
And a man about to shoot a guy because he wanted the red box instead of the blue one

Chorus
If the world had no war just peace, everything else would be neat
No pollution or greed, no one fighting over another
If the world had just war no peace, everything else would be weak
Black skies everywhere, the ozone layer opening up,
Dead bodies scattered everywhere, even blood on your favourite chair
And a man about to shoot a guy because he wanted the red box instead of the blue one



Side note: Love is a powerful emotion that cannot always be described. When you have it though, you know. As a race we should care for one another whomever they are. We are all people. We live, we breathe, we sweat. As a man, I'm not afraid to say that I worry about many things, some foolish, some not. I don't know who I will exactly be 10 years from now but I do know that I will never let love fail me. I strive to be a good person every day. And every day, I succeed in reaching that goal. It's easy to do wrong but it takes work and heart to do right. Jack Layton, leader of the NDP party in Canada, wrote this at the end of his final message to Canada: 'My friends, love is better than anger. Hope is better than fear. Optimism is better than despair. So let us be loving, hopeful and optimistic. And we’ll change the world.'

Read more: http://www.montrealgazette.com/Jack+Layton+final+message/5289212/story.html#ixzz1XHJQwdpK


We can change the world and we will if we're all devoted to change. We may do it in our own special way, but if we all come together as one, we can save humanity from it's own destruction.

I love this poem, Tate. Very heartfelt and moving. I have to write that every day I try to make the world a better place, one tiny step at a time. How do we convince the whole world to agree that love is the answer? We may never know, but we will try.