The Demands of War

by John Collins / May 31st, 2020

Men go off to war, but there is never a time that they return.
For the returning man is never the man that went away,
and death can be pronounced in many ways.
The cost is measured in blood, in wounds and in limbs.

The ground receives the blood and turns to crimson,
receiving the moans and cries of those injured while
lending its arms to receive those whose cries have ceased.
Such is the domain of the men who go off to war.

John Collins, a retired pharmacist and teacher, has been a long time writer and after 40 years is attempting to compile his writings into a volume for print. He has appeared in Dissident Voice and the Pagolin Review. His topics are frequently about the horrors of conflict, but also about the duality of the encounters in life. Read other articles by John.

This article was posted on Sunday, May 31st, 2020 at 8:02am and is filed under Poetry.