“A war, a conflict does not end until the last survivor dies.”

Into dark holes they are sent to kill,

Oh what adventure, oh what a thrill,

This is how heroes are made.

Go forth and kill, be victorious,

Die for your country; be glorious,

The orders must be obeyed.

Your superiors need a crusade,

Whilst they eat their toast with marmalade,

They’re safe; they don’t need to fight.

You go and fight and spill out your guts

The despots smile; you are just a putz…

That is the ruler’s birthright.

We have a reason; God’s on our side,

You do not question; you must abide,

Justice and right will be done.

In God’s name it’s glorious to die,

You needn’t question the reason why,

Go forth my son, here’s your gun.

You die a hero; we’ll praise your deed,

We will love and honour you indeed,

Your death will not be in vain.

Paradise is yours; God will be praised,

In your honour monuments be raised,

Elysium your domain.

Go and kill, lay the landscape to waste,

Fight your enemy; make him debased,

Rape their wives; defile their maids,

We’ll tell the world it was for the good.

You stand erect; you proved your manhood,

We’ll give you all accolades.

Mothers and kin on both sides shed tears

All conflicts end, we live with new fears,

New conflicts will sure arise…

We need new soldiers to send and fight,

We must make this world in God’s name right…

…One day we surely be wise…

You’ve done your deed, now you wonder why,

You’ve seen the corpses, ready to cry:

- “Why, oh why did I survive?” -

You dream of carnage, can’t see ahead…

…I wonder who’s the victim? The dead?

Or the one who’s left alive?…

© P. J. Oszmann (2004)

© Illustration: “Dead End” Pencil and Charcoal Study 355x255 mm (1970.)

Digital photo reduced in Photoshop. (2004).

I am too long in the teeth, I’ve seen too much carnage, witnessed too many deaths first hand.

I make no apologies about my views on armed conflict. However – just to avoid any misunderstanding – the above poem – although it is unfortunately and regretfully topical – is not about US, British or any specific soldiers of any specific fighting forces, but rather about soldiers, fighting men in general, ”legal” or “underground”, and about those despots, tyrants, tin-pot dictators, drug barons, politicians and ayatollahs who recruit, finance and arm them and send them to fight in our name and God’s name, to kill, maim and to get killed or maimed, at any time in mankind’s despicable history.