Poem: Perfect Union

Wind sweeps over the battlefield
Carrying the silence
To the ears of the general
While his eyes look over the field
Filled with blood and ichor
Friend and foe frozen in eternal struggles
In the same dirty earth
Resting in shared peace
 
Beyond the cooling carnage below
From his observation point
High on the mountain top
He can see the fires in the distance
Burned villages filled with collateral damage
Those places he visited
Filled with people who trusted him to win
Not restored by the end of hostilities
 
No leader would ever say
A victory wasn’t worth the price
It would belittle the sacrifice
 
Looking over a kingdom of ash
The question always lingers
Was it worth it
And now here is it worth it
To ask another sacrifice
To reunite and rebuild
Towards a more perfect union
That will be as temporary as the last

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Copyright © 2021 TJS Sherman All rights reserved.

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