Who will cry for the fallen,
while the blood of friend and foe lies drying in the sand?
Who will weep for their fate,
while the waxy pale faces of the doomed lie gasping?
Who will remember them?
Will military fanfare be enough to quiet the ghost?
Who will calm their mother’s grief?
Will you pray for the fallen and those left behind,
or is your faith hollow from years of neglect?

Do you have the courage to pray for all of the dead,
and not just those on your side of the trench?
I have looked into the ghastly eyes of death
and have seen myself staring back.
I have scolded death himself,
taunting him for coming so close and having missed me.
I have seen the last gasp, the rattle, the curling agony,
and I know life’s fragility.

Say a prayer for the fallen soldiers and those
caught in the talons of national eagles.
While a starving dog will never eat his master,
rulers will never hesitate to consume our young.
Lift up your eyes to heaven and don’t blame God,
because such misery is entirely our doing.