Friday, November 11, 2016

955 - Breaking the Cycle


Armistice Day, 2016.


Breaking the Cycle

Lest we forget, 
Our minds blinded
To what those on the front line did
By the comforting haze of time
War is not pretty, 
Not some bedtime
Soothing story 
Of how the high-minded troops fought, 
Struggled and grinded out 
A path to victory 
(as we defined it)
They fought and died in the grime:
Lest we forget.

Remember what those at Lone Pine did
And other battles that come to mind.  
Did we understand this very human crime?
We must reject war for peacetime
And be constantly reminded—
Lest we forget.
.
---
© J Cosmo Newbery 2016
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16 comments:

  1. Thank you for your words to our heroes

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  2. Yes , the futility of war. Well written

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  3. Too often Australia has fought other nations wars and paid the price for peace in foreign fields. Let's hope we have foreign friends like us should the need arise.

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  4. If only we could break the cycle, that is, the cycle of war.

    On Remembrance Day we pay homage to all those who have died in battle, we hold our silence on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month (Armistice Day). The admonition ‘Lest we forget’ was based on the hope that remembering the terrible human cost of military conflict (both military and civilian) we would learn and never walk that path again.

    We have not learned and probably never will. The very nature of humankind leads us to war. It is my hope and belief that most warfare (in which we are the defender) is justified in that we seek to fight injustice the world over. We cannot sit back comfortably while others are subject to mans inhumanity to man. That is not peace.

    Sorry this comment is a bit soapbox(y).

    Kind regards
    Anna :o]

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    Replies
    1. Granted, you can't avoid war if you are attacked. But too many wars of late seem to have been quite avoidable. Someone's making money.

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  5. lest we forget... sadly we separate the remembering from the wars that we sanction by our silence... it has to end.

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  6. Yes, we definitely must be constantly reminded.....
    but mostly we turn a blind eye to the past & bumble
    on in the same direction.

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  7. I think remembering is most important for the sake of never do it again... we seem to forget in a few generations... then it's changed from blood to heroism

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  8. No glamour in being in mud-filled trenches, wet and cold,with guns blazing. Well said, Cosmo.

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  9. lest' we forget. Thanks.
    ZQ

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  10. We must reject war for peacetime
    And be constantly reminded—
    Lest we forget.

    A timely reminder often forgotten with impunity!

    Hank

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  11. Agreed. War is not a concept but grit and blood and--"Lest we forget"--you remind us powerfully. So why not stop? Lots of people quit smoking when confronted with images of how it destroys lungs, etc.

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  12. yes, "Lest we forget".
    and i agree with you that many recent wars can be avoidable. they are started with pretty flimsy excuses...

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  13. We must never forget what war has done and what it can do...bkm

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