There were women at train stations
waving their last sad goodbye
to their sweethearts bound for battle
as the soldiers who would die
sometimes for true, good reason
other times for just a lie
when there was no valid answer
to that anguished question: “Why?”
There were children gripped by horror
as their laughter turned to tears
when the bombs burst all around them
in those worst of wartime years
makes no difference what religion
godly trust just disappears
when the shrapnel cuts a family
and the napalm flares and sears
There were those who marched in protest
who refused to serve or fight
for a cause that history’s judgment
would declare just wasn’t right
were you one who called them traitors?
were they cowards in your sight?
will your dreams be calm and peaceful
once you fall asleep tonight?