…this is a poem about the horror and ethical dilemma that is war, and the devastating impact it has on many soldiers…
•
crisp red from the scalding sun
from devastation’s fires
from cruel vision of relentless horror
scorched by vicious exposure of sentenced gaze
take refuge in this heavy late evening dew
thick with munitions soot
settling like a shroud
lubricious
opaque
obscuring
I am sustained by this damp cool pall
that descends upon me
wraps ‘round my pained countenance
fevered with fatigue
deafened by weapon’s roar
crippled with despair
driven by faint memory of honor
of duty
of human dignity
I stumble
broken by this sin I shoulder
this perversion
not of my making
but of my charge
my sin
conceived and unleashed
by those who would impose their will
their twisted utopian vision
who would advance their agenda of domination
those who would take it all
wear the conqueror’s crown
who would rule the world
a world now broken
corrupted by their vision
spoiled by their vanity
a world in chaos
I have but this bloodied ruin-riddled highway
of deepening nocturne
of dying dreams
crushed innocence
destruction
death
decay
of my duplicity
of my guilt
my shame
fear not for the future
weep not for the past
…impossible
and so I stumble on
muttering mea culpa
saturated with this falling evening
with this drenching sorrow
slinking in exhausted alert
nerves shattered as eggshells
numb to panic
hollow
empty
into this coming night
and the next night
and the night that follows
that always follows
captive on this road of murder
of mounting evil
of brutal human arrogance
prisoner of this lost highway
seeking forgiveness
• • •
rob kistner © 2010
•> click HERE to read The Failure of Architecture, a poem I wrote about the ethical dilemma of the corporate world <•
This devestation – of war – of “sins” – is the burden that we all carry.
“broken by this sin I shoulder
this perversion
not of my making
but of my charge”
beautifully written Rob.
This poem is devastatingly beautiful. The way you layer each detail propelled me as a reader even as it weighed me down with the guilt you articulate. Thank you.
This makes for some powerful reading. Very well done. I love the visual pacing of it on the screen. It looks as good as it sounds.
Funny how we dip into common rivers in the collective consciousness. The speaker in my poem also keeps seeking forgiveness and absolutely.
Some very beautiful and vivid language in this piece, Rob. How well you evoke both the horrors of war and the horrors behind war. Well done this week.
-Nicole
You evoke the horrors so well!
The horrors of war so well depicted here. Sad but also a wonderful piece.
Pamela
Interesting process – melding three different drafts. I also found my way to soldiers with this Wordle.
Thank you for sharing this. Complex yet a simple thread, and well stated how participation impacts those who survive. While the images are certainly dire, the delivery allows for them to be received more for understanding than merely “reaction”. Well done.
i confess i m scared
Ha Ethical?
Well expressed! There can be no winners in war!
nicely written Rob…enjoyed the reads