Bugle And Passing Bell

WWI

It was called

"The Great War"

Which many believed

Would end

All wars.

 

Almost wiping out

An entire generation of men

Upon the European battlefield

In a four year span.

 

Spewing forth

Untold new horrors

And methods of killing

On an industrial scale.

 

Giving rise to

A new form of tribalism

Called nationalism

As neighbours turned

Against each other.

 

Dying European empires

Are carved up

Into smaller multi-ethnic states

Without addressing

The ethnic minority problem.

 

Which

Ultra-nationalist used

As one of their pretexts

For the next global war

Killing tens of millions people.

 

Sadly

The aftermath is

Still playing out

In Africa Asia and Europe

As the killing continues

Unabated.

 

While

The world prepares

To mark the centennial

Of war outbreak

On July 28, 1914.

 

Whose death's throws

Marked the birth

Of the modern era

With blood

Upon it's hands.

Author's Note

Originally written, July 27, 2014.