Saturday, May 10, 2014

ONLY MOTHERS KNOW



BROKEN BONDS OF WAR

The comrades two; lean in,
embrace,
in solidarity one weeps,
the other dead, dims,
silently slips the mooring.

Away--away the light of the world.
This—this is war’s lasting tribute.
Death conquers life,
a nations children
to memory assigned,
names listed
on gloriously tall markers
meant to soften  our mothers loss.

The weaving begun at birth, in war,
become a singed berth line shipped,
anchorage moor lost, youth’s treasure buried.

S
a
day
Youth of a nation lost to rise no more.
This is war. This is war. This is war.
Mothers shredded gift of life, buried.

© M Durfee
5.10.2014


3435 Dead. Afghanistan. 4.30.14
4528 Dead. Iraq. 12.30.13
150,000+ civilian dead (both) 4.30.14
 This is war.

10 comments:

  1. War: the bane of mothers. And of fathers.

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  2. What a Mother's Day tribute! If my mother didn't hate war so much, I'd send her here to read it.

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  3. Yeep. Wasn't expecting a poem like this for Mother's Day but in fact, you have given voice to a very special group of mothers.

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  4. What a fitting powerful statement. Thank you, mark

    Love
    kj

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  5. dang that last line...and this is the cost
    that we bury our young and mothers weep
    and families are obliterated to achieve the goals
    on men that sit so far from the war...

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  6. Excellente. This has a feel both modern and ancient -- just like war itself.

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  7. One of my sons made it all the way to the day before shipping out to West Pointe before they called and said he was a last minute cut. They offered him OCS. Though I would have, his mother would have supported whatever he decided to do. I am happy that he is no longer a viable statistic for the jaws of war.

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  8. And the mothers weep.... xo

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So Walking Man I was thinking...