Union Songs

Tell me the truth about war

A poem by Stuart Rees©2005 Stuart Rees

A coalition of the willing declared war
but did not explain why,
or the reasons they gave
were not the real reasons
and something called a dodgy dossier
became as smelly as the exam papers
of a schoolboy who cheated.

One leader is an evangelist,
another a true believer,
each hooked on the catechisms of their convictions
and would be lost without reference to their God
though non-believers
have questioned the sacred texts
and have asked for evidence.

An evil man was supposed
to be able to destroy his opponents
with mighty weapons in forty-five minutes
but the leaders who wanted to elimate a dictator
also needed to throw their weight around,
use their weapons
to convince the world of their truth:
by killing people to protect them
they would be welcomed in the streets,
by installing puppet governments
their armies could demonstrate democracy at work,
which was another good reason for having a war.

Notes

Many thanks to Stuart Rees for permission to add this poem to the Union Songs collection

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